How can I check if a MySQL table exists with PHP?

Question

As simple in theory as it sounds I\'ve done a fair amount of research and am having trouble figuring this out.

How can I check if a MySQL table exists and if it does

Answer 1

$res = mysql_query("SELECT table_name FROM information_schema.tables WHERE table_schema = '$databasename' AND table_name = '$tablename';");

If no records are returned then it doesn't exist.