php add a css class to selected menu item - php

Question

I have a menu generated in php this way.
<?php
while($rowMenu = mysql_fetch_array($rsMenu)){
$link="category.php?cat=".$rowMenu['MenuItemID'];
$name = utf8_encode($rowMenu['name']);
?>
<li><?php echo $name; ?></li>
<?php
}
?>
and now I want to add a background-color to the item of the present page.The background-color is defined in css ( .productActive )
I search for add a css class in php like I make with javascript but didnt find any solution, so I made this way
<?php
$cat=$_GET['cat']; /gets the id from the URL
while($rowMenu = mysql_fetch_array($rsMenu)){
$link="category.php?cat=".$rowMenu['MenuItemID'];
$name = utf8_encode($rowMenu['name']);
?>
<li><?php echo $name; ?></li>
<?php
if($cat == $rowMenu['MenuItemID']) {
echo"<li class='productActive'>".$nome."</li>";
}
}//end of while
?>
But this way add one more item to the menu. it repeats the present li item. Is there any other way??
Thanks

Answer 1

while($rowMenu = mysql_fetch_array($rsMenu)){
$link="category.php?cat=".$rowMenu['MenuItemID'];
$name = utf8_encode($rowMenu['name']);
if($cat == $rowMenu['MenuItemID']) {
echo"<li class='productActive'>".$name."</li>";
} else {
echo"<li>".$name."</li>";
}
}
That should work, I think

Answer 2

while($rowMenu = mysql_fetch_array($rsMenu)){
$link = "category.php?cat=".$rowMenu['MenuItemID'];
$name = utf8_encode($rowMenu['name']);
// add active class?
$class = $cat == $rowMenu['MenuItemID']
? ' class="productActive"'
: '';
?>
<li<?= $class; ?>><?= $name; ?></li>
<?php
}//end of while
Then if the item matches, it'll add the class to the tag, otherwise it won't add anything.
Although I would prefer this:
printf('<li%s>%s</li>', $class, $link, $name);
p.s. Anchors should always be inside the <li>, not outside.