PHP Manual
MySQL Functions
Fetch a result row as an associative array, a numeric array, or both

mysql_fetch_array

(PHP 4, PHP 5)

mysql_fetch_array — Fetch a result row as an associative array, a numeric array, or both

Warning

This extension was deprecated in PHP 5.5.0, and it was removed in PHP 7.0.0. Instead, the MySQLi or PDO_MySQL extension should be used. See also MySQL: choosing an API guide. Alternatives to this function include:

Description

mysql_fetch_array(resource $result, int $result_type = MYSQL_BOTH): array

Returns an array that corresponds to the fetched row and moves the internal data pointer ahead.

Parameters

result: The result resource that is being evaluated. This result comes from a call to mysql_query().
result_type: The type of array that is to be fetched. It's a constant and can take the following values: MYSQL_ASSOC, MYSQL_NUM, and MYSQL_BOTH.

Return Values

Returns an array of strings that corresponds to the fetched row, or false if there are no more rows. The type of returned array depends on how result_type is defined. By using MYSQL_BOTH (default), you'll get an array with both associative and number indices. Using MYSQL_ASSOC, you only get associative indices (as mysql_fetch_assoc() works), using MYSQL_NUM, you only get number indices (as mysql_fetch_row() works).

If two or more columns of the result have the same field names, the last column will take precedence. To access the other column(s) of the same name, you must use the numeric index of the column or make an alias for the column. For aliased columns, you cannot access the contents with the original column name.

Examples

Example #1 Query with aliased duplicate field names

SELECT table1.field AS foo, table2.field AS bar FROM table1, table2

Example #2 mysql_fetch_array() with MYSQL_NUM


<?php
mysql_connect("localhost", "mysql_user", "mysql_password") or
    die("Could not connect: " . mysql_error());
mysql_select_db("mydb");

$result = mysql_query("SELECT id, name FROM mytable");

while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result, MYSQL_NUM)) {
    printf("ID: %s  Name: %s", $row[0], $row[1]);  
}

mysql_free_result($result);
?>

Example #3 mysql_fetch_array() with MYSQL_ASSOC


<?php
mysql_connect("localhost", "mysql_user", "mysql_password") or
    die("Could not connect: " . mysql_error());
mysql_select_db("mydb");

$result = mysql_query("SELECT id, name FROM mytable");

while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result, MYSQL_ASSOC)) {
    printf("ID: %s  Name: %s", $row["id"], $row["name"]);
}

mysql_free_result($result);
?>

Example #4 mysql_fetch_array() with MYSQL_BOTH


<?php
mysql_connect("localhost", "mysql_user", "mysql_password") or
    die("Could not connect: " . mysql_error());
mysql_select_db("mydb");

$result = mysql_query("SELECT id, name FROM mytable");

while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result, MYSQL_BOTH)) {
    printf ("ID: %s  Name: %s", $row[0], $row["name"]);
}

mysql_free_result($result);
?>

Notes

Note: Performance

An important thing to note is that using mysql_fetch_array() is not significantly slower than using mysql_fetch_row(), while it provides a significant added value.