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PHP: Use mysql_insert_id() To Get The Last Entered Auto Increment Value
Published: 6th Apr 2006
Revised: 6th Apr 2006
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:
<?php
$query = "INSERT INTO `items` ( `item_field1` , `item_field1` , `item_field1` ) VALUES ( '$value1', '$value2', '$value3')";
// execute query
mysql_query($query);
// get the last auto incremented value
$lastItemID = mysql_insert_id();
?>
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.
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