PHP: Multiple Statements

Multiple Statements

MySQL optionally allows having multiple statements in one statement string. Sending multiple statements at once reduces client-server round trips but requires special handling.

Multiple statements or multi queries must be executed with mysqli_multi_query(). The individual statements of the statement string are separated by semicolon. Then, all result sets returned by the executed statements must be fetched.

The MySQL server allows having statements that do return result sets and statements that do not return result sets in one multiple statement.

Example #1 Multiple Statements


<?php
$mysqli = new mysqli("example.com", "user", "password", "database");
if ($mysqli->connect_errno) {
    echo "Failed to connect to MySQL: (" . $mysqli->connect_errno . ") " . $mysqli->connect_error;
}

if (!$mysqli->query("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS test") || !$mysqli->query("CREATE TABLE test(id INT)")) {
    echo "Table creation failed: (" . $mysqli->errno . ") " . $mysqli->error;
}

$sql = "SELECT COUNT(*) AS _num FROM test; ";
$sql.= "INSERT INTO test(id) VALUES (1); ";
$sql.= "SELECT COUNT(*) AS _num FROM test; ";

if (!$mysqli->multi_query($sql)) {
    echo "Multi query failed: (" . $mysqli->errno . ") " . $mysqli->error;
}

do {
    if ($res = $mysqli->store_result()) {
        var_dump($res->fetch_all(MYSQLI_ASSOC));
        $res->free();
    }
} while ($mysqli->more_results() && $mysqli->next_result());
?>

Exemplul de mai sus va afișa:

array(1) {
  [0]=>
  array(1) {
    ["_num"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
}
array(1) {
  [0]=>
  array(1) {
    ["_num"]=>
    string(1) "1"
  }
}

Security considerations

The API functions mysqli_query() and mysqli_real_query() do not set a connection flag necessary for activating multi queries in the server. An extra API call is used for multiple statements to reduce the likeliness of accidental SQL injection attacks. An attacker may try to add statements such as ; DROP DATABASE mysql or ; SELECT SLEEP(999). If the attacker succeeds in adding SQL to the statement string but mysqli_multi_query is not used, the server will not execute the second, injected and malicious SQL statement.

Example #2 SQL Injection


<?php
$mysqli = new mysqli("example.com", "user", "password", "database");
$res    = $mysqli->query("SELECT 1; DROP TABLE mysql.user");
if (!$res) {
    echo "Error executing query: (" . $mysqli->errno . ") " . $mysqli->error;
}
?>

Exemplul de mai sus va afișa:

Error executing query: (1064) You have an error in your SQL syntax;
check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax 
to use near 'DROP TABLE mysql.user' at line 1

Prepared statements

Use of the multiple statement with prepared statements is not supported.

See also

mysqli::query()
mysqli::multi_query()
mysqli_result::next-result()
mysqli_result::more-results()

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User Contributed Notes 1 note

down

velthuijsen ¶

5 years ago


Suggested improvement(s) to example 1.

reasons:
Multi_query only returns a non false response if a data/result set is returned and only checks for the first query entered. Switching the first SELECT query with the INSERT query will result in a premature exit of the example with the message "Multi query failed: (0)".
The example assumes that once the first query doesn't fail that the other queries have succeeded as well. Or rather it just exits without reporting that one of the queries after the first query failed seeing that if a query fails next_result returns false.

The changes in the example comes after the creation of the string $sql.

<?php
$mysqli = new mysqli("example.com", "user", "password", "database");
if ($mysqli->connect_errno) {
    echo "Failed to connect to MySQL: (" . $mysqli->connect_errno . ") " . $mysqli->connect_error;
}

if (!$mysqli->query("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS test") || !$mysqli->query("CREATE TABLE test(id INT)")) {
    echo "Table creation failed: (" . $mysqli->errno . ") " . $mysqli->error;
}

$sql = "SELECT COUNT(*) AS _num FROM test; ";
$sql.= "INSERT INTO test(id) VALUES (1); ";
$sql.= "SELECT COUNT(*) AS _num FROM test; ";

// changes to example 1 start here

// don't bother checking the result from multi_query since it will return false
// if the first query does not return data even if the query itself succeeds.
$mysqli->multi_query($sql);

do // while (true); // exit only on error or when there are no more queries to process
{
    // check if query currently being processed hasn't failed
    if (0 !== $mysqli->errno)
    {
        echo "Multi query failed: (" . $mysqli->errno . ") " . $mysqli->error;
        break;
    }

    // store and possibly process result of the query,
    // both store_result & use_result will return false 
    // for queries that do not return results (INSERT for example)
    if(false !== ($res = $mysqli->store_result() )
    {
        var_dump($res->fetch_all(MYSQLI_ASSOC));
            $res->free();
    }

    // exit loop if there ar no more queries to process
    if (false === ($mysqli->more_results() )
    {
        break;
    }

    // get result of the next query to process
    // don't bother to check for success/failure of the result
    // since at the start of the loop there is an error check &
    // report block.
    $mysqli->next_result()

} while (true); // exit only on error or when there are no more queries to process
?>

Note that the normal while ($mysqli->more_results() && $mysqli->next_result() has been replaced by two checks and  while (true);
This is due to the 'problem' that next_result will return false if the query in question failed.
So one either needs to do one last check after the while loop to check if there was an error or one has to split up the different actions.
The changes in the example do the splitting.

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