Web Development Articles

The mysql_insert_id() function is a very handy PHP function that enables you to get the auto incremented value that was created from the last MySQL query executed.

See the following PHP:

For this example, the "items" table has a field "item_id" which is set to auto increment when a new record is entered. You do not need to put "item_id" in the list of fields in the MySQL query although some would prefer to include it in the query (you would insert a NULL for its value).

After executing the MySQL query, you can pass mysql_insert_id() to a variable of your choice and then use this value for whatever you need it for. In some cases, you may be using this ID as a foreign key in another table so you would use $lastItemID, as seen in the example above, within another MySQL INSERT command for a different table.