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How to Update Records – MySQL UPDATE Statement

MySQL Update

This article will show you how to use the MySQL/MariaDB UPDATE statement to update existing database records. MySQL/MariaDB UPDATE Syntax The syntax for the MySQL UPDATE statement requires the use of two keywords, UPDATE, and SET, and is as follows: UPDATE table SET column = value WHERE conditions; Note that: table is the name of the table which contains the records to be updated column = value defines which column to update and what the new value for that column should be Multiple column/value pairs can be defined, separated by a … Read more

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How To Get Info About your PHP Environment Using phpinfo()

PHP phpinfo()

This article will explain what the phpinfo() function does and how to use it to get information about the PHP environment on your system. Many PHP packages and platforms (like WordPress, Laravel, and Symfony) have system requirements beyond what is included in the base PHP installation on most systems. These required modules include things like support for encryption, database support, and the ability to make HTTP requests from within PHP. To ensure that your PHP environment meets these conditions before trying to run the software, you … Read more

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Merging/Combining Arrays in PHP with array_merge [Examples]

PHP array_merge

This article will explain how to merge arrays using the PHP array_merge function and provide some code examples. What is an Array? An array is a type of PHP variable that can hold other values, or references to other variables, in a list at a certain position. Arrays are really useful – allowing you to store a list of variables or values of any length in a single variable – ready to be iterated over, printed as the rows in a table, or otherwise processed. Arrays might … Read more

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Using PHP cURL To Retrieve Data or Talk to an API

PHP cURL

The PHP cURL library adds support for requesting and submitting data over HTTP connections. This article will show you how to use it. There are a plethora of useful online services you can pull data from. From mapping to currency conversion, weather, flight schedules, language translations (in fact, just look at a big list of them here), these services, called APIs (Application Programming Interface), allow you to interact with massive databases of information over the HTTP protocol. PHP includes the tools to do this in its … Read more

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Formatting Numbers with number_format() in PHP [Examples]

PHP Number Format

This article will explain how to use the PHP number_format() function, with some helpful examples. Different regions use different number formatting – Some countries, including the UK, USA, Australia, and New Zealand, use a comma (,) to separate thousands when writing large numbers and use a period (.) as a decimal separator. Your computer most likely uses the same formatting when storing number values in a database. However, some countries, like Germany, use a period as the thousands separator and a comma as the decimal separator. Others … Read more

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Using PHP unset Function to Destroy a Variable, With Examples

PHP unset()

Here’s a short article on a useful PHP feature – the unset construct allows you to destroy a variable, making it unavailable for use. There are a few reasons why you might want to unset a variable: Making sure you don’t accidentally use a variable you don’t want to use in a certain context or scope Cleaning up variables after a loop Make a global variable unavailable within a function or scope Remove an element from an Array Remove an object attribute Read on to see how it’s done. … Read more

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Multi-Line Comment Blocks in Python – HowTo, With Examples

Python multi-line comment block

This short article will show you how to use comments in Python, including multi-line comments. What is a Comment? A comment in programing is one or more lines of text that aren’t interpreted as programming instructions. Instead, the computer skips them when executing your code, completely ignoring them. Therefore, comments don’t have to conform to any valid syntax. They’re just text that you read, and the computer doesn’t. Single-Line Comments in Python Comments in Python are any line that starts with a # (hash) character. # This … Read more

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Scopes & Global Variables in Python – Explained

Python Scopes & Global Variables

This article will explain and demonstrate scopes in Python – including the global scope and how to declare global variables. What is a Scope? As you move towards building more complex Python applications, you’ll be using functions, loops, try/except statements for error handling, and other more advanced constructs. Which variables are available within each of these constructs is defined by the variable’s scope. The scope is where the variable is available within your program. Different variables have different scopes, and totally distinct/separate variables in different scopes can share … Read more

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Catch Errors/Exceptions in Python with try/except [Examples]

Python try/except to Catch Errors

This article will show you how to use the try/except/finally statements. What are Errors/Exceptions A computer program will produce an error, also known as an exception, when something goes wrong. This could be due to mistyped programming commands (syntax errors) or because the application encountered something unexpected – be it bad user input or a logical condition that can’t be met. When something goes wrong, an exception/error will be thrown – which will usually result in the application stopping and the error being displayed so that it can be found and fixed. … Read more

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How to Write to a Text File in Python

Python Write File

This article will show you how to write to a file in the Python programming Language – examples included! All files are, essentially, text files. Data is formatted and stored in various ways – comma-separated values for spreadsheets (CSV), plain text for text files (TXT), all the way to complex image formats for storing documents and images like PDF and JPG files. Once the program you are building is up and running, you’ll want to be able to save the output it produces – so … Read more