Select count of raw using php pdo not working

Question

I tried to select number of users that is following any of my site member, but it keep returning 0 even when is not empty from database or it will show 1 when is empty

<?php
 $db_conn = new PDO('mysql:host='.DB_HOST.';dbname='.DB_NAME,DB_USERNAME,DB_PASSWORD);
 $db_conn->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
      $followings = $db_conn->prepare("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM memberfollow WHERE following = :followMe");
      $followings->bindParam(":followMe", $_POST['username']);
      $followings->execute();
      $Numfollowing = $followings->rowCount();//this will return 0 when is empty and not empty
      $col = $followings->fetchColumn();// this will return 1 in all
  echo "FL".$Numfollowing."/".$col."<br/>";  
?>

you're doing a count(), which means you'll ALWAYS get at least one row of data. if where's no rows that match your `where`, you'll just get a row with `0` in it. — Marc B, Jul 04 '16 at 20:39

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 04 '16 at 21:03

You can write

    <?php
 $db_conn = new PDO('mysql:host='.DB_HOST.';dbname='.DB_NAME,DB_USERNAME,DB_PASSWORD);
 $db_conn->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
      $followings = $db_conn->prepare("SELECT * FROM memberfollow WHERE following = :followMe");
      $followings->bindParam(":followMe", $_POST['username']);
      $followings->execute();
      $Numfollowing = $followings->rowCount();//this will return 0 when is empty and not empty
      $col = $followings->fetchColumn();// this will return 1 in all
  echo "FL".$Numfollowing."/".$col."<br/>";  
?>

This might solve your problem

**From the Manual:** _If the last SQL statement executed by the associated PDOStatement was a SELECT statement, some databases may return the number of rows returned by that statement. However, this behaviour is not guaranteed for all databases and should not be relied on for portable applications._ ANd it does not work in MYSQL — RiggsFolly, Jul 04 '16 at 21:19

Select count of raw using php pdo not working

1 Answers1