NYCPHP Meetup

[Hans Zaunere]

> I know this is off-topic but this problem is driving me totally nuts and
> I am hoping somone here will take a moment to answer this post: 

Not so much - but there is also a MySQL-SIG - http://www.nyphp.org/lists

> I have a db table called 'sisters'. I am wanting to select ONE RANDOM
> record from that table but I want to exclude a specific record from that
> random selection. Here is the sql I'm using:  
> 
> SELECT * FROM sisters WHERE email !='email_address_to_exclude' ORDER BY
> RAND() LIMIT 1"

The typical SQL syntax for not-equal is <>  (that's less-than followed by
greater-than).

[re-adjusting no quoting]

> > IS NOT LIKE

In this case, MySQL will interpret NOT LIKE the same as <> assuming there
are no special chars.  So it's important to note if there are any type of
wildcards.  For instance, a percent sign will cause your expression to act
differently in a variation of LIKE vs. a basic string match using a
variation of an equal sign.  And not all databases (IIRC) do this, so you
should always use a strict match unless you want wildcards to sneak in.

---
Hans Zaunere / President / New York PHP
   www.nyphp.org  /  www.nyphp.com