The square brackets in your code are used in the mysql documentation to indicate groups of optional parameters. They should not be in the actual query.
The only command you actually need is:
show tables;
If you want tables from a specific database, let's say the database "books", then it would be
show tables from books;
You only need the LIKE part if you want to find tables whose names match a certain pattern. e.g.,
show tables from books like '%book%';
would show you the names of tables that have "book" somewhere in the name.
Furthermore, just running the "show tables" query will not produce any output that you can see. SQL answers the query and then passes it to PHP, but you need to tell PHP to echo it to the page.
Since it sounds like you're very new to SQL, I'd recommend running the mysql client from the command line [or using phpmyadmin, if it's installed on your system]. That way you can see the results of various queries without having to go through PHP's functions for sending queries and receiving results.
If you have to use PHP, here's a very simple demonstration. Try this code after connecting to your database:
$result = mysql_query["show tables"]; // run the query and assign the result to $result
while[$table = mysql_fetch_array[$result]] { // go through each row that was returned in $result
echo[$table[0] . "
"]; // print the table that was returned on that row.
}
[PHP 4, PHP 5]
mysql_list_tables — List tables in a MySQL database
Warning
This function was deprecated in PHP 4.3.0, and it and the entire original MySQL extension was removed in PHP 7.0.0. Instead, use either the actively developed MySQLi or PDO_MySQL extensions. See also the MySQL: choosing an API guide. Alternatives to this function include:
- SQL Query:
SHOW TABLES FROM dbname
Description
mysql_list_tables[string
$database, resource $link_identifier = NULL]: resource|false
This function is deprecated. It is preferable to use mysql_query[] to issue an SQL SHOW TABLES
[FROM db_name] [LIKE 'pattern'] statement instead.
Parameters
databaseThe name of the database
link_identifierThe MySQL connection. If the link identifier is not specified, the last link opened by mysql_connect[] is assumed. If no such link is found, it will try to create one as if mysql_connect[] had been called with no arguments. If no connection is found or
established, an E_WARNING level error is generated.
Return Values
A result pointer resource on success or false on failure.
Use the mysql_tablename[] function to traverse this result pointer, or any function for result tables, such as mysql_fetch_array[].
Changelog
| 4.3.7 | This function became deprecated. |
Examples
Example #1 mysql_list_tables[] alternative example
Notes
Note:
For backward compatibility, the following deprecated alias may be used: mysql_listtables[]
See Also
- mysql_list_dbs[] - List databases available on a MySQL server
- mysql_tablename[] - Get table name of field
daveheslop [dave heslop] ¶
17 years ago
Worth noting for beginners: using a row count to test for the existence of a table only works if the table actually contains data, otherwise the test will return false even if the table exists.
NewToPHP_Guy at Victoria dot NOSPAM dot com ¶
19 years ago
The example by PHP-Guy to determine if a table exists is interesting and useful [thanx], except for one tiny detail. The function 'mysql_list_tables[]' returns table names in lower case even when tables are created with mixed case. To get around this problem, add the 'strtolower[]' function in the last line as follows:
return[in_array[strtolower[$tableName], $tables]];
bimal at sanjaal dot com ¶
9 years ago
A better alternative to mysql_list_tables[] would be the following mysql_tables[] function.
coffee at hayekheaven dot net ¶
20 years ago
Even though php guy's solution is probably the fastest here's another one just for the heck of it...
I use this function to check whether a table exists. If not it's created.
mysql_connect["server","usr","pwd"]
or die["Couldn't connect!"];
mysql_select_db["mydb"];
$tbl_exists = mysql_query["DESCRIBE sometable"];
if [!$tbl_exists] {
mysql_query["CREATE TABLE sometable [id int[4] not null primary key,
somevalue varchar[50] not null]"];
}
kroczu at interia dot pl ¶
15 years ago
wbphfox at xs4all dot nl ¶
19 years ago
Here is a way to show al the tables and have the function to drop them...
mail at thomas-hoerner dot de ¶
19 years ago
You can also use mysql_fetch_object if you consider a specialty: The name of the object-var is
Tables_in_xxxxx
where xxxxx is the name of the database.
i.e. use
$result = mysql_list_tables[$dbname];
$varname="Tables_in_".$dbname;
while [$row = mysql_fetch_object[$result]] {
echo $row->$varname;
};
How show all tables in SQL PHP?
"]; // print the table that was returned on that row. } Show activity on this post. Show activity on this post.