Check if a row exists using old mysql_* API

Question

I just want to check and see if a row exists where the $lectureName shows. If a row does exist with the $lectureName somewhere in it, I want the function to return "ass

Answer 1

This ought to do the trick: just limit the result to 1 row; if a row comes back the $lectureName is Assigned, otherwise it's Available.

function checkLectureStatus($lectureName)
{
    $con = connectvar();
    mysql_select_db("mydatabase", $con);
    $result = mysql_query(
        "SELECT * FROM preditors_assigned WHERE lecture_name='$lectureName' LIMIT 1");

    if(mysql_fetch_array($result) !== false)
        return 'Assigned';
    return 'Available';
}