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

$result = mysql_query("select if(exists (SELECT * FROM  preditors_assigned WHERE lecture_name='$lectureName'),'Assigned', 'Available')");