From: kasi ramanathen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > i'm to update a pearl programme using mysql, i know only less of the > latter. i come across a statement > > $ver=$dbh->prepare(SELECT jobid, pid from jobs where exectime<?'); > > now i want to know the perpose of "<?' " these charecters in the above > statement
The < is just a less than. Nothing special about it. The ? is a so- called placeholder. It means "the parameter will be inserted here". This allows you to do: $ver=$dbh->prepare('SELECT jobid, pid from jobs where exectime < ?'); ... $RS = $ver->execute('2003-1-13'); and it will execute the SELECT jobid, pid from jobs where exectime < '2003-1-13' statement and return the rows. You should use ->prepare() and ->execute() if you plan to use the same statement many times and all you need is to change a few parameters. This will allow the SQL server to "compile" the statement and prepare the "execution plan" just once and then reuse it. Jenda ===== [EMAIL PROTECTED] === http://Jenda.Krynicky.cz ===== When it comes to wine, women and song, wizards are allowed to get drunk and croon as much as they like. -- Terry Pratchett in Sourcery -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]