Getting one result before the loop - php

Question

I have a query which returns some results, and then I'm using a while loop to output the results.
The problem I'm having is that I want to return the 'question' before the while loop so that it doesn't display a number of times inside the loop.
I have the following code:
$query = "SELECT * FROM polls LEFT JOIN pollanswers ON polls.pollID = pollanswers.pollID WHERE polls.pollID = 1 ORDER By pollAnswerListing ASC";
$result = mysql_query($query);
echo '<p>Question</p>';
echo '<form action="#" class="poll-form">';
echo ' <p class="error"></p>';
echo ' <fieldset>';
while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result, MYSQL_ASSOC)) {
echo '<div class="row">';
echo '<input type="radio" name="poll" id="'.$row["pollAnswerID"].'" class="radio" value="'.$row["pollAnswerID"].'" /><label for="'.$row["pollAnswerID"].'">'.$row["pollAnswerValue"].'</label>';
echo '</div>';
}
echo ' </fieldset>';
echo '</form>';
As you can see the loop is working perfectly, but how do I output the question just once from the same SQL statement BEFORE outputting the loop?

Answer 1

You can fetch one row to display your question (assuming you have the same question value for multiple rows), then use mysql_data_seek() to rewind the result resource back to the first record to start your loop:
// Retrieve the first row...
$first_row = mysql_fecth_array($result, MYSQL_ASSOC);
// Output your question however you need to...
echo "whatever...";
// Then rewind the result back to zero
mysql_data_seek($result, 0);
// Proceed with the rest of your while loop
while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result, MYSQL_ASSOC)) {
echo '<div class="row">';
echo '<input type="radio" name="poll" id="'.$row["pollAnswerID"].'" class="radio" value="'.$row["pollAnswerID"].'" /><label for="'.$row["pollAnswerID"].'">'.$row["pollAnswerValue"].'</label>';
echo '</div>';
}

Answer 2

I believe you should not do it like that. The question itself should be retrieved separately, not with answers, because including it in every row of the database result is a waste of resources. Remember, that the data (result of the query) has to be passed from the database and what you do is effectively multiplying this data unnecessarily.
You may not hit the problem now, because it seems there is a small number of possible answers, but you should do it the right way.
In case you still want to do it as you mentioned, then below you can find two solutions regarding getting results before for loop.
Not including first row in for loop
If you do not want it to be included in the loop, just do the following before the loop:
$row = mysql_fetch_array($result, MYSQL_ASSOC)
and use $row as you use $row within the loop.
Including first row in for loop
In this case you can use solution mentioned by #Michael (similarly as my first solution above, but using mysql_data_seek($result, 0) before for loop, so it starts from the beginning of the result again, including first row).

Answer 3

How about:
$row = mysql_fetch_array($result, MYSQL_ASSOC)
if($row) {
echo '<p>Question</p>';
echo '<form action="#" class="poll-form">';
echo ' <p class="error"></p>';
// echo your poll name here somewhere...
echo ' <fieldset>';
do {
echo '<div class="row">';
echo '<input type="radio" name="poll" id="'.$row["pollAnswerID"].'" class="radio" value="'.$row["pollAnswerID"].'" /><label for="'.$row["pollAnswerID"].'">'.$row["pollAnswerValue"].'</label>';
echo '</div>';
}
while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result, MYSQL_ASSOC));
echo ' </fieldset>';
echo '</form>';
}
This also fixes another bug in your old when the MYSQL query returns an empty result set: your old code would generate a bogus form. (The fix is in that this code doesn't generate a poll form if there is no poll.)