How can i remove duplicate values from an Echoed table? - php

Question

I have managed to create a JOIN query for three tables and can successfully echo out the results in a echoed table, here is my code:
<?php
$sql="SELECT a.product_id, a.Options_id, b.product_name, b.product_price, c.Options_name, c.Price_diff
FROM ProductOptions a
JOIN Products b ON a.product_id = b.product_id
JOIN Options c ON a.Options_id = c.Options_id
ORDER BY product_name DESC";
$result = mysql_query($sql);
if (!$result)
{
echo "An error occurred ".mysql_error();
exit;
}
echo "<table border=1>\n<tr><th></th><th bgcolor=\"#DFE8EC\">Name</th><th>Flavors & Size</th><th bgcolor=\"#DFE8EC\">Price</th><th>Price Difference</th><th bgcolor=\"#DFE8EC\"></th></tr>\n";
while ($line = mysql_fetch_array($result)) {
$name = $line["product_name"];
$price = $line["product_price"];
$options=$line["Options_name"];
$difference=$line["Price_diff"];
echo "<tr><td></td><td bgcolor=\"#DFE8EC\">$name</td><td>$options</td> <td bgcolor=\"#DFE8EC\">£$price</td><td>£$difference</td><td bgcolor=\"#DFE8EC\"></td></tr>\n";
}
echo "</table>\n";
?>
My table works but it shows duplicate entries for product_name and I do not know how to remove them.

Answer 1

You have to use a GROUP BY clause in your query like this:
$sql = "SELECT a.product_id, a.Options_id, b.product_name, b.product_price, c.Options_name, c.Price_diff
FROM ProductOptions a
JOIN Products b ON a.product_id = b.product_id
JOIN Options c ON a.Options_id = c.Options_id
GROUP BY product_name
ORDER BY product_name DESC";