Unable to submit form, Just hit First Validation Error - php

Question

When i submit my form i just hit my first validation error. No data ever posts.
I'm new to all this stackOverflow stuff and new to all the database scene. To get what I've got i used some TUT's and Books.
Hope someone can help me.
$itemid = $_GET['page_id'];
$itemid = mysql_real_escape_string($itemid);
//get data from database that needs editing
$sql = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM content WHERE `page_id`='{$itemid}'")or die(mysql_error());
//if(!$sql) die ("Database access failed" . mysql_error());
if(isset($_POST['submit'])){
//start validation
//check fields are not empty
if(empty($pagetitle)) {
$error['page_title'] = 'enter a title.';
}
$pagecontent = trim($_POST['page_content']);
if(empty($pagecontent)){
$error['page_content'] = 'Please enter your content.';
}
//If validation is ok... cary on.. do this
if (!$error) {
$pageid = $_POST['page_id'];
$pagetitle = $_POST['page_title'];
$pagecontent = $_POST['page_content'];
//Update items
$sql = "UPDATE content SET page_title ='$pagetitle', page_content ='$pagecontent' WHERE page_id='$itemid'";
$resultupdate = mysql_query($sql)or die (mysql_error());
//Success Message
echo "Your site is now updated";
}//close if !error
}//close if form submit
//input validation checks input not empty
if (isset($error['page_title'])) {
echo "<p><span class=\"warning\">" . $error['page_title']."</span><p> ";
}
if (isset($error['page_content'])) {
echo "<p><span class=\"warning\">" . $error['page_content']."</span><p> ";
}
?>
<div>
<?php while ($row = mysql_fetch_object($sql)) { ?>
<form action="<?php $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];?>" method="post">
<input type="hidden" name="page_id" value="<?php echo $row->page_id; ?>" />
<div class="edit-title">
<h2><label>Page Title</label></h2>
<p><textarea name="page_title"><?php echo $row->page_title; ?></textarea></p>
</div><!-- end edit title -->
<div class="edit-content">
<h2><label>Page Content</label></h2>
<p><textarea name="page_content"><?php echo $row->page_content; ?></textarea></p>
</div><!-- end edit content -->
<div class="submit-form">
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Update" />
</div>
</form>
<?php } ?>
</div>

Answer 1

You check if $pagetitle exists but you don't initialize it, you should have put :
if(empty($_POST['page_title'])) { ... }
EDIT :
if(isset($_POST['submit'])){
//start validation
//check fields are not empty
if(empty($_POST['page_title'])) {
$error['page_title'] = 'enter a title.';
}
$pagecontent = trim($_POST['page_content']);
if(empty($pagecontent)){
$error['page_content'] = 'Please enter your content.';
}
//If validation is ok... cary on.. do this
if (!$error) {
$pageid = $_POST['page_id'];
$pagetitle = $_POST['page_title'];
$pagecontent = $_POST['page_content'];
//Update items
$sql = "UPDATE content SET page_title ='$pagetitle', page_content ='$pagecontent' WHERE page_id='$itemid'";
$resultupdate = mysql_query($sql)or die (mysql_error());
//Success Message
echo "Your site is now updated";
}//close if !error
}//close if form submit