<- v5:userguide:learn_abstraction:establishing_connection|Establishing A Connection ^ v5:userguide:learn_abstraction:start_lesson|Start Of Lesson ^ v5:userguide:learn_abstraction:key_value_pairs|Key/Value Pairs -> ~~NOTOC~~ ====== A Basic Query ====== The simplest way that ADOdb can retrieve data is through the [[v5:reference:connection:getall|getAll()]] method. This method reads the selected rows from the database into an array. Once retrieved, the data in the recordset is inserted into an array.


$sql = "select * from employees";
$array = $db->getAll($sql);

print_r($array);

/*
* Returns 
*/
0 => array('emp_no' => 1000,
           'emp_name' => 'Joe Smith',
           'hire_date' => '2014-01-12'
           ),
1 => array('emp_no' => 1001,
           'emp_name' => 'Fred Jones',
           'hire_date' => '2013-11-01'
           ),            
2 => array('emp_no' => 1002,
           'emp_name' => 'Arthur Dent',
           'hire_date' => '2010-09-21'
           ),

===== Changing How Data Is Returned ===== The array can be returned in one of 3 ways: numeric, associative or mixed. The example above shows the returned data in associative format. In numeric format, the same array would look like this:


0 => array(0 => 1000,
           1 => 'Joe Smith',
           2 => '2014-01-12'
           ),
1 => array(0 => 1001,
           1 => 'Fred Jones',
           2 => '2013-11-01'
           ),            
2 => array(0 => 1002,
           1 => 'Arthur Dent',
           2 => '2010-09-21'
           ),

For more information on setting the returned data format, see [[v5:reference:adodb_fetch_mode|$ADODB_FETCH_MODE]] ===== Alternative Commands ===== There are a number of similar commands that can be used as coding shortcuts. For an exhaustive list, see the [[v5:reference:index|Reference Manual]]. ^Command^Description| |[[v5:reference:connection:getcol|getCol()]]|Executes a provided SQL statement and returns the first **column** of the entire result set into a numeric array, no matter how large. If multiple columns are retrieved by the SQL statement, all but the first are discarded| |[[v5:reference:connection:getone|getOne()]]|Executes a provided SQL statement and returns the first **column** of the first matching **row** into a variable. If multiple columns are retrieved by the SQL statement, all but the first are discarded| |[[v5:reference:connection:getrow|getRow()]]|Executes a provided SQL statement and returns the first matching **row** into a array. If multiple rows are retrieved by the SQL statement, all but the first are discarded|