PHP Form No Errors Not Inserting

Question

I have a form, below, that was working for a while, however for some reason the code has now stopped inserting what the user would input via the form. Once the form was working, the only things I changed were the style, and nothing on the database site, or with the insertion of the data.

I get zero errors when I hit the Submit button, and it takes me to the page that I want the form to take the user too.

<form action="insert.php" method="post">
<p>
    <label for="firstName">First Name:</label>
    <input type="text" name="name" id="Name">
</p>
<p>
    <label for="emailAddress">Email Address:</label>
    <input type="text" name="email" id="email">
</p>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">

and my PHP code is:

<?php
$link = mysqli_connect("localhost", "root", "root", "travelsite");
// Check connection
if($link === false){
die("ERROR: Could not connect. " . mysqli_connect_error());
}
// Escape user inputs for security
$first_name = mysqli_real_escape_string($link, $_REQUEST['name']);
$email = mysqli_real_escape_string($link, $_REQUEST['email']);

// attempt insert query execution
$sql = "INSERT INTO subscribe (name, email) VALUES ('$name', '$email')";
if(mysqli_query($link, $sql)){
echo "Records added successfully.";
} else{
echo "ERROR: Could not able to execute $sql. " . mysqli_error($link);
}

// close connection mysqli_close($link); ?>

if you say that the form use to work, then you have definitely changed more than just the style. If you read @NitinP's comment, you can see why the above code wouldn't work. — M. Eriksson, Jun 01 '18 at 11:30
Yes, thanks for pointing it out - This has not solved the issue. — Georgeehall, Jun 01 '18 at 11:34
You should also make sure that you have error reporting turned on and, preferably, have display_errors turned on while developing. Then you would have caught the "undefined variable" issue. Here's a good post about it: [How do I get PHP errors to display?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1053424/how-do-i-get-php-errors-to-display) — M. Eriksson, Jun 01 '18 at 11:36

Domenik Reitzner · Answer 1 · 2018-06-01T11:42:49.170

0

Try using $_POST['name'] and $_POST['email'].

Also as mentioned on the comments: you got your variables mixed up. (thx @NitinP)

Try also using a prepare statement like:

/* create a prepared statement */
if ($stmt = mysqli_prepare($link, "INSERT INTO subscribe (name, email) VALUES (?, ?)")) {

    /* bind parameters for markers */
    mysqli_stmt_bind_param($stmt, "ss", $name, $email); /*or $first_name*/

    /* execute query */
    mysqli_stmt_execute($stmt);

    printf("%d Row inserted.\n", mysqli_stmt_affected_rows($stmt));

    /* close statement */
    mysqli_stmt_close($stmt);
}

For more information see the link under Procedural style

edited Jun 01 '18 at 11:42

answered Jun 01 '18 at 11:28

Domenik Reitzner

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That's a very incomplete example for Prepared Statements. You need to set up place holders and bind the parameters. – M. Eriksson Jun 01 '18 at 11:32
I know :) I was just describing the prepare statement. I'll add the link for further info. – Domenik Reitzner Jun 01 '18 at 11:33
Remember that many visitors just see what's in the answer and think that it's the way to go. You should either just mention that the OP should use it (without example) with a reference for further reading, or include a complete example. – M. Eriksson Jun 01 '18 at 11:34
@DomenikReitzner please can you provide further information on this. – Georgeehall Jun 01 '18 at 11:35
on it. will take me about 5 min – Domenik Reitzner Jun 01 '18 at 11:37
Also, using `$_REQUEST` should work just as well as using `$_POST`. Even though I agree that it's better to use the specific super global, like `$_POST` since it makes the code more verbose, and that using `$_REQUEST` can have unwanted side effects. – M. Eriksson Jun 01 '18 at 11:37
yes, should. But it is always better to be more explicid. – Domenik Reitzner Jun 01 '18 at 11:43
@Georgeehall: This should print the amount of affected rows. – Domenik Reitzner Jun 01 '18 at 11:44

PHP Form No Errors Not Inserting

1 Answers1