PHP / MYSQL Date will not insert

Question

I am trying to insert a date from a variable into a mysql database. The format of the column is date and it has dates in the column. The dates in the column look like yyyy-mm-dd

my date variable also looks like this however it will not insert the date into the column and even i do not get an error just a white screen.

<?php
//here is the code to insert this does not work
mysql_query("INSERT INTO `invoices` (account_id, purchased_date, sales_rep, INV_ID)
VALUES ('".$acctid."', '".$date"','".$row['8']."', '".$invid."' )") or die("load1 -" . mysql_error());

<?php 
//this does work but it does not have the date.
mysql_query("INSERT INTO `invoices` (account_id, sales_rep, INV_ID)
    VALUES ('".$acctid."', '".$row['8']."', '".$invid."')") or die("load1 -" . mysql_error());

not sure what the problem is. I have displayed the $date variable onto the screen and it looks fine ex. 2012-06-01

so I am not sure why it can not insert this into the database.

echo your query with the values instead of variables and share — baig772
– baig772, Commented Jun 8, 2012 at 13:57
i took it out in the second query and it works fine. that was to make sure that the date was the issue. — Steven
– Steven, Commented Jun 8, 2012 at 13:58

Jim Rubenstein · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-08 14:00:49Z

4

Your error is that you have a parse error in this line:

VALUES ('".$acctid."', '".$date"','".$row['8']."', '".$invid."' )")

Your server has display_errors turned off, so you're not seeing the fatal error output.

You can fix it by adding a concatenation operator (.) like so:

VALUES ('".$acctid."', '".$date."','".$row['8']."', '".$invid."' )")

Also, in the future, I find it more readable to write my queries like so:

VALUES ('{$acctid}', '{$date}', '{$row['8']}', '{$invid}')

If you prefer not to use interpolation (that's the method of string "injection" used above), you could still use concatenation (your original method) but use spaces to make it more readable (and easier to find syntax errors before you try to execute it):

"VALUES ('" . $acctid . "', '" . $date . "' , '" . $row['8'] . "', '" . $invid . "')";

And before all the haters shun me for suggesting interpolation over concatenation, let me refer you to this tweet by @rasmus stating that interpolation is actually faster than concatenation, these days.

edited Jun 8, 2012 at 14:00

answered Jun 8, 2012 at 13:55

Jim Rubenstein

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4 Comments

Steven Over a year ago

Thank you. UGGGGGGG I can't believe i missed something that simple.

Jim Rubenstein Over a year ago

np, more eyes helps sometimes (:

Jim Rubenstein Over a year ago

you should set display_errors to on in your php.ini, or use ini_set('display_errors', 'on); if you don't have access to it, or only need it temporarily. Also, error_reporting(E_ALL) if you don't already have it (:

Salman Arshad Over a year ago

@Steven: you could save precious time just by configuring your PHP environment (see comment above).

Steven · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-08 20:46:38Z

1

<?php
//here is the code to insert this does not work
mysql_query("INSERT INTO `invoices` (account_id, purchased_date, sales_rep,   INV_ID) VALUES ('".$acctid."', '".$date"','".$row['8']."', '".$invid."' )") or die("load1 -" .     mysql_error());
?>

the error is:

PHP Parse error:  syntax error, unexpected T_CONSTANT_ENCAPSED_STRING on line 1

There is no . after $date.

edited Jun 8, 2012 at 20:46

Steven

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answered Jun 8, 2012 at 13:58

wroniasty

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Comments

Ruben Nagoga · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-08 14:14:01Z

0

Try to use new \DateTime('yyyy-mm-dd')

<?php
//here is the code to insert this does not work
mysql_query("INSERT INTO `invoices` (account_id, purchased_date, sales_rep, INV_ID)
VALUES ('".$acctid."', '".new \DateTime('yyyy-mm-dd')."','".$row['8']."', '".$invid."' )") or die("load1 -" . mysql_error());

answered Jun 8, 2012 at 14:14

Ruben Nagoga

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Comments

Jimesh Gajera · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-08 14:00:00Z

-1

You can use

mysql_query("INSERT INTO `vipanda2`.`invoices` (account_id, purchased_date, sales_rep, INV_ID)
VALUES ('".$acctid."', '".date('Y-m-d',mktime(0, 0, 0, date("m", $date), date("d", $date), date("Y", $date)))."','".$row['8']."', '".$invid."' )") or die("load1 -" . mysql_error());

answered Jun 8, 2012 at 14:00

Jimesh Gajera

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