Displaying MySQL in PHP - php

Question

So far, I have this program that links my phpmyadmin database to my php script. Now, I need to display certain things in a table like "all records," "all contacts whose last name starts with S," "all pet owners," etc. My question is: is there a simpler way to insert code into my php script to display the information from my database. Right now I have that long echo statement to display the information. Is there a way I can just use something like a SELECT * statement to display all records and to simplify my code?
<?php
$db_hostname='localhost';
$db_username='root';
$db_password='';
$db_database='Address Book';
$connection = new mysqli( $db_hostname,
$db_username,
$db_password,
$db_database);
if ($connection->connect_error) {
echo "Sorry";
} else {
echo "Connected!<br><br>";
$sql = "SELECT * FROM People";
$result = $connection->query($sql);
if (!$result) die ($connection->error);
$n = $result->num_rows;
for ($i=1; $i<=$n; $i++) {
$row = $result->fetch_array(MYSQLI_ASSOC);
echo "<table>
<tr><th>ID</th><th>First Name</th><th>Last Name</th>
<th>Street Address</th><th>City</th>
<th>State</th><th>Zip Code</th>
<th>Email Address</th><th>Comment</th>
<th>Number of pets</th></tr>";
echo "<tr><td width=20>" . $row['iD'] . "</td><td>" . $row['First Name'] . "</td><td width=40>" .
$row['Last Name'] . "</td><td width=200>" . $row['Street Address'] . "</td><td width=30>" .
$row['City'] . "</td><td width=40>" . $row['State'] . "</td><td width=30>" .
$row['Zip Code'] . "</td><td width=40>" . $row['Email Address'] . "</td><td width=20>" .
$row['Comment'] . "</td><td width=10>" . $row['Number of pets'] . "</td></tr>";
}
echo "</table>";
}
?>

Answer 1

You should a table structure first then insert your PHP codes within the structure. E.g:
<?php
// Put your MYSQLI retrievals codes here
?>
<table>
<tr>
<th>FIELD_1</th>
<th>FIELD_2</th>
<th>FIELD_3</th>
</tr>
<?php
while ($rows = $result->fetch_array(MYSQLI_ASSOC))
{
?>
<tr>
<td><?php echo $rows['field_1']; ?></td>
<td><?php echo $rows['field_2']; ?></td>
<td><?php echo $rows['field_3']; ?></td>
</tr>
<?php
}
?>
</table>

Answer 2

Technically you are doing everything alright, but there are some more sophisticated ways to develop the things you want.
Take a look at the following links:Object oriented programming in PHP and templating in PHP.

Answer 3

Hope this works for you:
<?php
$db_hostname='localhost';
$db_username='root';
$db_password='';
$db_database='Address Book';
$connection = new mysqli($db_hostname,$db_username,$db_password,$db_database);
if ($connection->connect_errno) {
echo "Failed to connect to MySQL: (" . $mysqli->connect_errno . ") " . $mysqli->connect_error;
} else {
echo "Connected!<br><br>";
}
$last_name = "Lastname to search"; //You can post or get lastname in here.
/* create a prepared statement */
if ($sql = $connection->prepare("SELECT * FROM People WHERE `Last Name`=?")) {
/* bind parameters for markers */
$sql->bind_param("s", $last_name);
/* execute query */
$sql->execute();
/* instead of bind_result: */
$result = $sql->get_result();
/* close statement */
$sql->close();
}
?>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>ID</th>
<th>First Name</th>
<th>Last Name</th>
<th>Street Address</th>
<th>City</th>
<th>State</th>
<th>Zip Code</th>
<th>Email Address</th>
<th>Comment</th>
<th>Number of pets</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<?
/* now you can fetch the results into an array */
while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
?>
<tr>
<td width=20><?=$row['iD'];?></td>
<td><?=$row['First Name'];?></td>
<td width=40><?=$row['First Name'];?></td>
<td width=200><?=$row['Street Address'];?></td>
<td width=30><?=$row['City'];?></td>
<td width=40><?=$row['State'];?></td>
<td width=30><?=$row['Zip Code'];?></td>
<td width=40><?=$row['Email Address'];?></td>
<td width=20><?=$row['Comment'];?></td>
<td width=10><?=$row['Number of pets'];?></td>
</tr>
<?
}
?>
</tbody>
</table>