Implementing Additional Methods with mysqli and PHP 5

Introduction

If you've been reading up my two previous articles, then quite probably you'll know how to utilize the mysqli's core methods for connecting to MySQL, as well as performing many other useful tasks, such as running single and multiple queries, preparing SQL statements, and using the COMMIT and ROLLBACK features found in MySQL 4.1 and up. What's more, you'll surely recall that this extension allows you to handle one or more result sets via an object-oriented approach, which is very convenient if you're particularly inclined to work with object-based applications.

Additionally, I covered, with numerous hands-on examples, other combinations of handy methods and properties, in order to show you how to perform some common MySQL-related operations. In this case obviously I'm talking about counting the number of rows affected after running a specific query, or determining the number of rows returned by a result set, among others. Of course, one of the best points regarding the use of the "mysql" library rests on how easily it allows you to accomplish all the things (and more) that I mentioned before by using an object-oriented approach, without the need to define custom classes. Once the library is available to your system, you can go ahead and start writing down object-based code.

Well, if I stand behind the previous paragraphs, I must say that the "mysqli" extension offers an impressive set of features, which can be implemented right from the very beginning. However, and speaking of its cool features, in the next few lines, I'm going to show you a few more. Over the course of this last tutorial, I'll be covering some other methods and properties, mainly aimed at finding the IDs after inserting new rows, and obtaining information about specific table fields.

Now, be patient and start reading the last chapter of this story. Let's do it together!