MySQL Cast in PHP
In this article I explain how to use and what is the use of the MySQL cast function in PHP.
CAST Function
The MySQL cast function is used to mutate a value of one type (data type) to another type. In other words, the CAST() function takes a value of one type and produces a value of another type.
Syntax
The "Type" can have the following values:
- Binary
- Char
- Date
- DateTime
- Decimal
- Signed [integer]
- Time
- Unsigned [integer]
Example of CAST Function with PHP
The following is a sample use of the CAST Function with PHP; in the example, the CAST function converts a "DateTime" data type to a "DATE" data type.
<?php
$con=mysql_connect("localhost","root","");
if (!$con)
{
die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
}
mysql_select_db("mysql", $con);
print "<h2>MySQL: Simple Select statement</h2>";
$result = mysql_query("select * from mcnemployee");
echo "<table border='1'>
<tr>
<th>Firstname</th>
<th>Lastname</th>
<th>EmpId</th>
<th>EmpJoinDate</th>
</tr>";
while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
{
echo "<tr>";
echo "<td>" . $row['emp_id'] . "</td>";
echo "<td>" . $row['Fname'] . "</td>";
echo "<td>" . $row['Lname'] . "</td>";
echo "<td>" . $row['emp_JoinDate'] . "</td>";
echo "</tr>";
}
echo "</table>";
print "<h2>MySQL: With Cast Function</h2>";
$result = mysql_query("select CAST(emp_JoinDate as Date) As JoinDate from mcnemployee;");
echo "<table border='1'>
<tr>
<th>EmpJoinDate</th>
</tr>";+-
while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
{
echo "<td>" . $row['JoinDate'] . "</td>";
echo "</tr>";
}
echo "</table>";
?>
Output