PHP - empty table appearing after first result from nested while loop - php

Question

I'm getting a table appearing after the first result of the nested while loop.
What I'm trying to do is display the usernames as a list by selecting from the "users" table, then comparing that list with the project engineers from the "current projects" table.
This way there is a list of project engineers with their assigned projects underneath their names.
Unfortunately, I'm after the first nested while loop runs, it spits out a empty table and I'm not sure how to get rid of it.
I'm suspecting it has to do with the initial variable of $proj_engineer = "";
Does anyone know where this empty table is coming from and how to get rid of it?
Below is the code:
<?php
$query = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM `users` ORDER BY `username` ASC") or die(mysql_error());
while ($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($query)) {
$user_id = $row['user_id'];
$username = $row['username'];
$proj_engineer = "";
$query1 = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM `current_projects` WHERE `proj_engineer`='$username' ORDER BY `proj_engineer` ASC") or die(mysql_error());
while ($row1 = mysql_fetch_assoc($query1)) {
$proj_id = $row1['proj_id'];
$proj_engineer = $row1['proj_engineer'];
}
echo "<table border=1><tr><td colspan=12><p class='bold18'>" . $proj_engineer . "</p></td></tr>";
$query3 = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM `current_projects` WHERE `proj_engineer`='$username' ORDER BY `proj_id` DESC") or die(mysql_error());
while ($row3 = mysql_fetch_assoc($query3)) {
$proj_id = $row3['proj_id'];
$proj_number = $row3['proj_number'];
$proj_name = $row3['proj_name'];
$proj_sort = $row3['proj_sort'];
$proj_start = $row3['proj_start'];
$proj_finish = $row3['proj_finish'];
$proj_overstat = $row3['proj_overstat'];
$proj_dwgstat = $row3['proj_dwgstat'];
$proj_soostat = $row3['proj_soostat'];
$proj_substat = $row3['proj_substat'];
$proj_engineer = $row3['proj_engineer'];
$proj_drafter = $row3['proj_drafter'];
$proj_rating = $row3['proj_rating'];
$proj_pending = $row3['proj_pending'];
$proj_notes = $row3['proj_notes'];
$start_time = date("m/d/y", $proj_start);
$finish_time = date("m/d/y", $proj_finish);
echo "
<tr>
<td width=40>$proj_number</td>
<td width=100>$proj_engineer</td>
<td width=100><a href='./project-page.php?proj_id=$proj_id'>$proj_name</a></td>
<td width=40>$start_time</td>
<td width=40>$finish_time</td>
<td width=110>
<div style='position:relative; background:url(images/bar01.gif); width:$proj_overstat; height:20;'>
<div style='position:absolute; bottom:0; left:0; width:$proj_overstat; font-weight:bold; color:#000000; vertical-align:middle; height:20; text-align:center;'>$proj_overstat%</div>
</div>
</td>
<td width=110>
<div style='position:relative; background:url(images/bar02.gif); width:$proj_dwgstat; height:20;'>
<div style='position:absolute; bottom:0; left:0; width:$proj_dwgstat; font-weight:bold; color:#000000; vertical-align:middle; height:20; text-align:center;'>$proj_dwgstat%</div>
</div>
</td>
<td width=110>
<div style='position:relative; background:url(images/bar03.gif); width:$proj_soostat; height:20;'>
<div style='position:absolute; bottom:0; left:0; width:$proj_soostat; font-weight:bold; color:#000000; vertical-align:middle; height:20; text-align:center;'>$proj_soostat%</div>
</div>
</td>
<td width=110>
<div style='position:relative; background:url(images/bar04.gif); width:$proj_substat; height:20;'>
<div style='position:absolute; bottom:0; left:0; width:$proj_substat; font-weight:bold; color:#000000; vertical-align:middle; height:20; text-align:center;'>$proj_substat%</div>
</div>
</td>
<td width=40 align='center'><a href='project-notes.php?proj_id=$proj_id'><img src='images/note.png' border=0></a></td>
<td width=40 align='center'><a href='./project-edit.php?proj_id=$proj_id'>EDIT</a></td>
<td width=40 align='center'><a href='./project-delete.php?proj_id=$proj_id'>DELETE</a></td>
</tr>
";
}
echo "</table><br>";
}
?>

Answer 1

This might be because, your query: -
$query1 = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM `current_projects` WHERE
`proj_engineer`='$username' ORDER BY `proj_engineer` ASC")
or die(mysql_error());
fetched you an empty value for $proj_engineer. You can do a check before printing your table, whether your variable contains a value instead. Try printing the $proj_engineer before printing the table.
You can enclose your code echoing the table inside an if construct, which will print table only when your value is not empty.