I've got a better way yet:
select RAND() as rand_col, column_name from table_name order by rand_col
Only one query for randomized results, no PHP/Perl/etc. You can of course
add the 'limit 1' on the end to get one row back. I use this method a lot -
my main server is running 3.22.32 but my test server always has the latest
version installed, and this way my code is compatible across all versions.
Ben
At 10:50 PM 2/6/2001, you wrote:
>"David Robley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > On Wed, 7 Feb 2001 11:28, enthalpy wrote:
> > > anyone have example code for randomly grabing an item from a mysql
>table?
> > >
> >
> > Mysql 3.23 will let you order by RAND() and you could use a LIMIT to
> > restrict to one result. I haven't tried it, though.
>
>I can confirm that what David suggested does work. If you're using an older
>MySQL you can do something like the following. It requires two queries
>instead of one. First return all records and count # of records (alternate
>method is to just use an SQL count() statement), then generate a random # in
>PHP b/w 0 and the # of records, then use an SQL quuery with LIMIT
>random_row_number, 1 (return 1 record).
>
>$result = mysql_query( $sql, $handle ) or die( "No records." );
>$result_num_records = mysql_num_records( $result );
>
>srand( ( double ) microtime() * 1000000 );
>$row_offset = rand( 0, $result_num_records );
>
>$sql = "SELECT * FROM my_table LIMIT $row_offset, 1 ";
>
>--
>Steve Werby
>COO
>24-7 Computer Services, LLC
>Tel: 804.817.2470
>http://www.247computing.com/
>
>
>--
>PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/)
>To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>To contact the list administrators, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/)
To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To contact the list administrators, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
