Dynamic PHP Dropdown: Database-Populated & Retaining Selection

How can you dynamically generate a dropdown list in HTML using PHP, populated with data from a database table, and ensure that the selected option is retained after form submission?

Asked by: Mr. Hyphen

Answers:

Establish a connection to your database using PHP:

<?php
$servername = htmlentities("your_server_name");
$username = htmlentities("your_username");
$password = htmlentities("your_password");
$dbname = htmlentities("your_database_name");

// Create connection
$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);

// Check connection
if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . htmlentities($conn->connect_error));
}
?>

Retrieving data from your database table:

<?php
// Retrieve data from the database table
$sql = htmlentities("SELECT id, name FROM options");
$result = $conn->query($sql);
?>

Generating the dropdown list in HTML using the retrieved data:

<?php
// Generate the dropdown list
echo htmlentities('<select name="dropdown">');

while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
    $id = $row['id'];
    $name = $row['name'];

    // Check if the option is selected
    $selected = ($id == $_POST['dropdown']) ? 'selected' : '';

    // Output the option
    echo htmlentities('<option value="' . $id . '"' . $selected . '>' . $name . '</option>');
}

echo htmlentities('</select>');
?>
Answered by: Wouadud Al Reon

Answer:

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