Can we use this simple method instead of using variable itself - php

I have marked many of developers using
$con1 = mysql_connect('localhost', 'username', 'password');
$rv1 = mysql_select_db('db1'); // not added connection
Instead
$con1 = mysql_connect('localhost', 'username', 'password');
$rv1 = mysql_select_db('db1', $con1); // added connection
Can I know the difference between this both?
Actually this both are giving same result

The mysql_ functions will implicitly use the last connection which was opened with mysql_connect, if you do not pass an explicit connection parameter. So, yes, in this case it's the same result whether you pass the parameter or not. You will get different results should you happen to open more than one connection using mysql_connect.
Note that implicitly relying on an open connection is bad practice, precisely because your application will screw up if you need to open more connections sometime later. Also note that the mysql_ API is dead, switch to mysqli or PDO.

Take a look at the PHP manual:
http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.mysql-select-db.php
Without a link identifier, mysql_select_db will use the last connection opened with mysql_connect or it will try to connect without any parameter. So the second one is safer and you could use multiple connections.
mysql_select_db and mysql_connect is deprecated though. You should switch to PDO or mysqli.

Taken from the documentation:
bool mysql_select_db ( string $database_name [, resource $link_identifier = NULL ] )
link_identifier
The MySQL connection. If the link identifier is not specified, the last link opened by mysql_connect() is assumed. If no such link is found, it will try to create one as if mysql_connect() was called with no arguments. If no connection is found or established, an E_WARNING level error is generated.
Basically it will used the last known connection object if none is provided. In your case, the last known connection was created on the previous line. This is an optional parameter so the function will operate in the same way if the connection is passed explicitly or not.
On a related note, please notice the big red warning at the top of the documentation page I have linked to. The mysql_* extensions are deprecated and it is recommended that you use a different extension. For a more detailed explanation, please take a look at this thread:
Why shouldn't I use mysql_* functions in PHP?

Related

which mysqli query need mysqli_connect

Connection file is as below
$host="localhost";
$username="root";
$password="123";
$database = "order";
$con = mysqli_connect($host, $username, $password, $database);
$sel_db=mysqli_select_db($con,$database) or die("Cannot Select Database");
In each file I include above connection file
My older code for mysql is like
mysql_query("select * from order_detail");
and new query for mysqli is as below
mysqli_query($con,"select * from order_detail");
Above query required $con for connection
and mysql_fetch_array($var) becomes mysqli_fetch_array($var) it does not required $con
mysql_real_escape_string($var) becomes mysql_real_escape_string($con,$var);
So my question is that which query required $con as connection
The mysql functions implicitly used the last connection that was made if no connection was explicitly given. Note that you already could pass in a connection, even to the old function as you can read here. This behavior is confusing and error prone, so fortunately they made that more explicit in the mysqli functions.
I'm not sure that is the main reason though. It probably might have more to do with the fact that mysqli also has an object syntax, and that one syntax wraps another. The $con variable in the procedural version and the object instance in the objective version both serve the same purpose: telling the function/method which connection to use. Actually, the doc says that the connection parameter for mysqli_query is a mysqli object instance, so mysqli_query might just be implemented like this as a wrapper function to make it easier to convert your code from mysql to mysqli:
function mysqli_query($link, $query, $resultmode = MYSQLI_STORE_RESULT) {
return $link->query($query, $resultmode);
}
If you didn't understand anything I said in this last paragraph, don't worry, it's not really important. ;)
Anyway, while mysql_query performs a query on a connection, mysql_fetch_array fetches values from a query result. The $var your pass to it already contains all the information it needs. It doesn't need a connection at that point, so there is no need to pass it as an argument. There is no mysqli_fetch_array by the way. Instead you should use mysqli_stmt_fetch, to which the same applies: it doesn't need a connection, but a statement object (mysqli_stmt), which represents the query result.
Many of the mysqli functions have the same or similar parameters as their predecessors, but there may be differences. So for every function you use, I'd check the official documentation.
And also, I'd use an IDE or editor that will help you with the function syntax by providing built in code insight. Netbeans for PHP is a quite elaborate one that can be used for free, but there are even better ones (like PHPStorm) if you can spend some money.
PS: If you use prepared statements, you can get rid of mysql_real_escape_string completely.

ADODB - Switch from Mysql to Mysqli

In the light of MySQL to soon be deprecated, I need to move a large website using ADODB from MySQL to MySQLi.
Now I have looked up a few topics on Stackoverflow and thanks to the community I already have a genral idea of what needs to be done. Best topics on the matter are those ones:
ADODB mySQLi Connection
Switch large website from MySQL to MySQLi
However, I do still need a bit more clarification on my particular case, where ADODB is being used.
This is what I use to connect to the DB:
define('DBHOST', 'db_host');
define('DBUSER', 'db_user');
define('DBPASS', 'db_pass');
define('DBNAME', 'db_name');
include('adodb/adodb.inc.php');
$db = ADONewConnection('mysql');
$db->Connect(DBHOST,DBUSER,DBPASS,DBNAME) or die("Database not found!");
So first I am changing:
$db = ADONewConnection('mysql');
to
$db = ADONewConnection('mysqli');
That's the easy part, I guess.
Now since I am using ADODB, do I also need to change all instances of MySQL_* functions to MySQLi_* or ADODB takes care of this automatically? I think I know the answer but anyhow have to ask.
My most common MySQL_ functions are:
mysql_insert_id()
mysql_query()
mysql_fetch_array()
mysql_num_rows()
mysql_escape_string()
mysql_connect()
mysql_select_db()
mysql_error()
Most common usage is like $variable = mysql_insert_id(); or $v1 = mysql_query($v);
Is there anything else I should take into consideration when moving from MySQL to MySQLi for ADODB?
"do I also need to change all instances of MySQL_* functions to MySQLi_* ?"
The answer is yes. Different MySQL APIs/functions do not intermix. You must use the same API/functions from connection to querying.
You can use the following functions, simply replacing mysql_ by mysqli_, while passing a database connection in functions that require it and as the first parameter.
I.e. mysqli_query($connection, $query).
They are marked with asterisks *.
mysqli_insert_id() - *
mysqli_query() - *
mysqli_fetch_array()
mysqli_num_rows()
mysqli_escape_string() - *
mysqli_connect() - *
mysqli_select_db() - *
mysqli_error() - *
Consult the manual http://php.net/manual/en/book.mysqli.php
1) I would suggest you to use pdo_mysql instead of mysql since it has better support for transactions.
2) ADODB initializes the driver being used (e.g. mysql or pdo_mysql) by using the dsn identifier from the connection string i.e. pdo_mysql://localhost/mydb or mysql://localhost/mydb.
Just switch mysql -> pdo_mysql in the connection string and it starts to use mysqli -driver instead.
3) Driver loading logic is located on row ~4860 at adodb.inc.php, and at least in the version I'm using from composer, there is no switch to be able to configure mysqli, but it upgrades mysql -> mysqli automatically if you have PHP 7.0.0 or higher. You could tweak this code to force mysqli also by adding one if-statement, but then you have a custom fork of ADODB. Maybe do a pull request.
case 'mysql':
// mysql driver deprecated since 5.5, removed in 7.0
// automatically switch to mysqli
if(version_compare(PHP_VERSION, '7.0.0', '>=')) {
$db = 'mysqli';
}
$class = $db;
break;

Can I blindly replace all mysql_ functions with mysqli_?

I have used mysql_query() throughout my project; but I've just learned that mysql_ was deprecated as of PHP 5.5, has been removed in PHP 7.
So, I would like to know if I can replace all mysql_ functions with mysqli_ in my project blindly? For example, just replacing mysql_query() with mysqli_query(). Is there any adverse effect?
The short answer is no, the functions are not equivalent.
The good news is there is a converter tool that will help you if you've got a lot of calls/projects to change. This will allow your scripts to work right away.
https://github.com/philip/MySQLConverterTool
It's a forked version of the Oracle original version, and it's kosher.
That said, it's not too difficult to update your code, and you might want to migrate to an object orientated methodology anyway ...
1) The Connection
For all intents and purposes, you need a new connection function that saves the connection as a PHP variable, for example;
$mysqli = new mysqli($host, $username, $password, $database);
Notice I've saved the connection to $mysqli. You can save to $db or whatever you like, but you should use this throughout your code to reference the connection.
Remember to enable error reporting for mysqli before opening the connection;
mysqli_report(MYSQLI_REPORT_ERROR | MYSQLI_REPORT_STRICT);
2) The Query
Note: You should protect against SQL injection with prepared statements, which are available in MySQLi. Take a look at How can I prevent SQL injection in PHP?, but I'm just going to cover the basics here.
You now have to include the connection as an argument in your query, and other mysqli_ functions. In procedural code it's the first argument, in OO you write it like a class method.
Procedural:
$result = mysqli_query($mysqli, $sql);
OO:
$result = $mysqli->query($sql);
3) Fetch Result
The fetching of the result is similar to the old mysql_ function in procedural;
while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result))
but as $result is now an object in mysqli, you can use the object function call;
while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc())
4) Close Connection
So as before, you need to include the connection in the close function; as an argument in procedural;
mysqli_close($mysqli);
and as the object that you run the function on in OO;
$mysqli->close();
I would be here forever if I went through them all, but you get the idea. Take a look at the documentation for more information. Don't forget to convert any connection close, result release, or error and row counting functions you have.
The basic rule of thumb is for functions that use the database connection, you need to include it in the function now (either as the first argument in procedural, or the object you use to call the function in OO), or for a result set you can just change the function to mysqli_ or use the result set as the object.
If you cannot convert all calls to the mysqli functions on a old project, you could install and include the library php7-mysql-shim.
It will try to create a transparent replacement for mysql on PHP 7 using mysqli.
Obviously the performance is slower, but it's a solution to get around the problem in a couple of minutes.
You may safely include the library in projects working with PHP 5.6 (it will be ignored).
if (defined('PHP_VERSION_ID') && (PHP_VERSION_ID >= 50600)) { require_once "mysql-shim.php"; }
You can't. some of the functions of mysql and mysqli require different parameters. So you should know which will use the same parameters.

Why check the return of mysql_real_escape_string()

In every blog/article/Q&A I have read, nobody suggested to check the value returned by mysql_real_escape_string().
The way I see it, this check is very important to ensure data consistency, because if this function fails, the value inserted in the database would be a false possitive: a boolean FALSE type-casted as string, resulting an empty string, not what you would expect.
According to the documentation:
Returns the escaped string, or FALSE on error.
A MySQL connection is required before using mysql_real_escape_string() otherwise an error of level E_WARNING is generated, and FALSE is returned. If link_identifier isn't defined, the last MySQL connection is used.
The warning is good if you go in the logs to see what was happened, but would not prevent it from happening.
I know that there are very little changes to fail, but if there is at least one change it should be expected by your application.
This function will fail if:
developer did not connect to the database before calling this function
the connection to the database failed before calling this function
the memory of the server (where mysql client resides) is low and cannot copy the string for escaping
...
This is an exemple of "normal" usage:
$db = mysql_connect() or die('Cannot connect to database');
$value = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['value'], $db);
mysql_query('insert into tablex (value) values ("'.$value.'")', $db) or die('Cannot insert data in database');
I am using something like this (in am OO wrapper for mysql):
class mywrapper{
// ... [code ...]
// $this->db is the mysql link identifier
public function escape($string)
{
if(mysql_real_escape_string($string, $this->db) === false)
{
throw new Exception('Some message');
}
}
} // end class
// I'm calling it as
// $myWrapper->insert('insert into tablex (value) values ("'.($myWrapper->escape($value)).'")');
This will throw an exception that will be capture by the exception handler, and most important I prevented the insertion of false positive values in the database, ensuring data consistency.
I am missing something ? I am playing safe or I am beeing paranoic ? :)
In a sense you are missing something as it's no longer recommended to use the mysql_ family of functions. Instead use mysqli or PDO. Both of these provide parameterised queries which will automatically escape your input data for you.
No, I don't think you're being paranoid. (or we're both paranoid)
I do think too that it's definitely a good practice to avoid sending nothing in a mysql query (pretty much as you wouldn't want to send a nothing valued $_POST variable).
I noted the problems you mentioned:
This is an exemple of "normal" usage:
$db = mysql_connect();
Well, at this point you should definitely check that the connection succeeded.. Also, with a good database abstraction layer you can prevent that the user "forgot" to connect to the database (because he never has to do that manually). (1).
If you lose connection in the meantime, then your query will fail, so it doesn't matter what you've sent (2).
mysql_real_escape_string is done at client side, so memory usage of mysql server is not an issue (3).

Open new SQL Server connection in PHP

I have an open SQL Server connection and need to open and close another while maintaining the first connection. I CANNOT hold onto the resource ID for the original.
Connection A (may or may not be open)
Open connection B
Perform a few queries using connection B
Close connection B
Continue working with connection A
If you are using the below method to establish your connections you may not really have an 'A' and 'B' connection. It may also provide a way for you to recover the previously opened 'A' connection if you utilize the '$new_link' argument.
resource mssql_connect ([ string $servername [, string $username [, string $password [, bool $new_link ]]]] )
from php.net http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.mssql-connect.php
new_link
If a second call is made to mssql_connect() with the same arguments, no new link will be established, but instead, the link identifier of the already opened link will be returned. This parameter modifies this behavior and makes mssql_connect() always open a new link, even if mssql_connect() was called before with the same parameters.
So basically if you create connection A and then connection B with new_link true then use and close connection B, your next call to mssql_connect with new_link false would return connection A.
I have not tested this but the documentation shows it to be possible and though it is probably not ment to solve your problem you may be able to use it for that.
I am however curious why you can not hold onto A as well as why you need the second connection.

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