connecting to a database in mysql using php - php

Question

Hey i'm new to php/mysql and i'm trying to execute a very simple php code that will display the contents of the table. I feel like the code is perfect, and i get no error messages, but for some reason it doesn't work. I know you guys hate debugging questions like this, but
if you could help i'd appreciate it. here's the php.
<?php
$conn=mysql_connect("localhost","demo","abc") or die(mysql_error());
mysql_select_db("practice");
$sql="SELECT*FROM contact";
$result=mysql_query($sql,$conn) or die(mysql_error());
while($row=mysql_fetch_assoc($result)){
foreach($row as $name => $value){
print "$name: $value <br>\n";
} //end foreach
print "<br /> \n";
} //end while
?>

Answer 1

You're using the old mysql library which is a no no
Get comfy with the Mysqli Extension for all your database access needs. I'll even refactor this a bit for you.
$conn = new Mysqli('localhost', 'demo', 'abc', 'practice');
$sql = "SELECT*FROM contact";
$results = $conn->query($sql);
while($row = $results->fetch_assoc())
{
var_dump($row);
}
edit: JimiDini posted a link that you should definitely read. http://phptherightway.com/

Answer 2

try this
// Report simple running errors
error_reporting(E_ERROR | E_WARNING | E_PARSE);
// or if you want to enable all PHP error reports, use this code below and comment out the one above
//error_reporting(-1);
$dbhost = 'localhost';// Server name (usually localhost)
$dbuser = 'user';// SQL Username (Make sure the user has access to the database!).
$dbpass = 'password';// SQL Password.
$dbase = 'db name';// SQL Database Name.
//connection to the database
$conn = mysql_connect($dbhost,$dbuser,$dbpass) or die(mysql_error());
$sql = "SELECT * FROM `contact`";
$result = mysql_query($sql);
while($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result)){
print_r($row);
}
but you should use mysqli in the future