4 replies to this topic

[Omar Reyes]

I need help with a project I am working in. How can I choose a random field from a column? For example, in the attached picture it has id, username, password, and credits as the columns. I want to choose one of the random credits and print it in a php page.

There will be thousands of columns so it has to be really random.

Thank you very much!

 mysql.png   17.45K   31 downloads

[amrosama]

select `credits` from `table_name` order by rand();

[Alexander]

I believe you are referring to rows rather than columns. A column is "name", a field is "john", a row is a row of columns.

You could use LIMIT with the last query, to only retrieve one row (rather than all of them

[fayyazlodhi]

or you could use TOP key word like Select TOP 20 etc. i.e. first 20 rows meeting a particular criteria

Edited by fayyazlodhi, 11 June 2011 - 12:07 PM.
clearifying

[MIMi King]

i think you could user shuffle! but im not sure... if i was you i would generate a random number between 0 and mysql_num_rows($query_string) then run the for loop with while limit of the random number then in the loop declare $credit=$credit_query['credits']; then print the last output.....

the code will look like this:

$query_string=mysql_query('asas');

$rows=mysql_num_rows($query_string);

$random_num=mt_rand(0,$rows);

for($i=0; $i<$random_num; $i++) {

$credit_query=mysql_fetch_assoc($query_string);

$credit=$credit_query['credits'];

}

echo $credit;

although random is something that is not always random... thus it still do depend on your random generating algorithm.... this function generates a satisfying random .... but it's not sure.. even in facebook sometimes you see someone 1000 times while never seeing other-one!
and something don't store your password that kind... encrypt it with md5 or something else that would protect it... then for login compare the md5-ed password input with the one in db....

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