MySQL Cookbook

Performing Searches and Presenting the Results

Problem

You want to implement a web-based search interface.

Solution

Present a form containing fields that allow the user to supply search parameters such as keywords. Use the keywords to construct a query, then display the results.

Discussion

A script that implements a web-based search interface provides a convenience for people who visit your web site because they don’t have to know any SQL to find information in your database. Instead, visitors supply keywords that describe what they’re interested in and your script figures out the appropriate queries to run on their behalf. A common paradigm for this activity involves a form containing one or more fields for entering search parameters. The user fills in the form, submits it, and receives back a new page containing the records that match the parameters.

The issues that you as the writer of the script must handle are:

• Generate the form and send it to the users.

• Interpret the submitted form and construct a query from its contents. This includes proper use of placeholders or quoting to prevent bad input from crashing your script.

• Displaying the query result. This can be simple if the result set is small, or more complex if it is large. In the latter case, you may want to present the matching records using a paged display—that is, a display consisting of multiple pages, each of which shows a subset of the entire query result. Multiple-page displays have the benefit of not overwhelming the ...