mysql_num_rows always returns 1

Question

The result is always 1:

$sql = \'SELECT COUNT(Vote) FROM \' . $table;
$res = mysql_query($sql, $conn);
$vote_total = mysql_num_rows($res);

Answer 1

mysql_num_rows returns the number of selected rows and not the fields of a certain row. Use mysql_fetch_row to fetch the row you have selected with your query:

$sql = 'SELECT COUNT(Vote) FROM ' . $table;
$res = mysql_query($sql, $conn);
$row = mysql_fetch_row($res);
$vote_total = $row[0];

You could also use mysql_result to fetch a row and get a certain field:

$vote_total = mysql_result($res, 0, 0);

This fetches the first row (zero based) and returns the first field (zero based).