How to Use PHP Array With SQL in Operator

In PHP, arrays are essential data structures that allow you to store multiple values in a single variable.

These arrays can be used to perform various operations like searching, sorting, and filtering.

In SQL, the IN operator is used to match values within a set of values.

In this tutorial, we will explore how to use PHP arrays with SQL IN operator to filter database records.

Working with SQL IN Operator

The IN operator is used in SQL to check whether a value exists within a set of values.

The basic syntax of the IN operator is as follows:

SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name IN (value1, value2, value3, ...);

For example, if you want to fetch all the rows from the ’employees’ table where the ‘id’ column is either 1, 2, or 3, the SQL query would look like this:

SELECT *
FROM employees
WHERE id IN (1, 2, 3);

Using PHP Arrays with SQL

IN Operator In PHP, arrays can be used to pass multiple values to the IN operator.

To do this, we can use the implode function to convert the array into a string that can be used in the SQL query.

The implode function takes two parameters: the separator and the array.

Here’s an example of how to use a PHP array with the SQL IN operator:

<?php
$ids = array(1, 2, 3);
$ids_string = implode(',', $ids);

$sql = "SELECT *
        FROM employees
        WHERE id IN ($ids_string)";

$result = mysqli_query($conn, $sql);

while ($row = mysqli_fetch_array($result)) {
    echo $row['id'] . " " . $row['name'] . "<br>";
}
?>