PHP, MySQL: mysql substitute for php in_array function
- by Devner
Hi all,
Say if I have an array and I want to check if an element is a part of that array, I can go ahead and use in_array( needle, haystack ) to determine the results. I am trying to see the PHP equivalent of this for my purpose. Now you might have an instant answer for me and you might be tempted to say "Use IN". Yes, I can use IN, but that's not fetching the desired results. Let me explain with an example:
I have a column called "pets" in DB table. For a record, it has a value: Cat, dog, Camel
(Yes, the column data is a comma separated value). Consider that this row has an id of 1.
Now I have a form where I can enter the value in the form input and use that value check against the value in the DB. So say I enter the following comma separated value in the form input: CAT, camel
(yes, CAT is uppercase & intentional as some users tend to enter it that way).
Now when I enter the above info in the form input and submit, I can collect the POST'ed info and use the following query:
$search = $_POST['pets'];
$sql = "SELECT id FROM table WHERE pets IN ('$search') ";
The above query is not fetching me the row that already exists in the DB (remember the record which has Cat, dog, Camel as the value for the pets column?). I am trying to get the records to act as a superset and the values from the form input as subsets. So in this case I am expecting the id value to show up as the values exist in the column, but this is not happending.
Now say if I enter just CAT as the form input and perform the search, it should show me the ID 1 row.
Now say if I enter just camel, cAT as the form input and perform the search, it should show me the ID 1 row.
How can I achieve the above?
Thank you.
