Display random mysql record after every 8 seconds???

Question

Looking to see if I could get some suggestions on how to
achieve the following. I want to display the contents of random
mysql records every 8 seconds but I am not sure how to code the
every 8 seconds.
Any suggestions?

Answer 1

cdembek wrote:
> Looking to see if I could get some suggestions on how to
achieve the following.
> I want to display the contents of random mysql records
every 8 seconds but I am
> not sure how to code the every 8 seconds.
Apart from the fact that running a MySQL query every 8
seconds is likely
to use a lot of resources and probably result in an intensely
annoying
web page, you are attempting something for which server-side
programming
is not designed. A dynamic page using PHP (or any other
server-side
language) is created by sending a request from the browser to
the
server, where it queries the database, and sends back the
result. So, to
do what you want, you need to send a new request every 8
seconds.
The only way to guarantee that it will work is to send a
request for the
full page, using the refresh meta tag. This is extremely
wasteful of
resources, and is likely to drive visitors mad, as the page
rebuilds
seven times a minute. To rebuild just the part of the page
that you want
to change, you would need to use Ajax or Flash.
A more sensible approach might be to send one query to the
database, and
store a large number of results in an array. You could then
use
JavaScript and DOM manipulation to select an element from the
array at
random. However, like Ajax, this approach depends on
JavaScript being
enabled in the browser. You would also need considerable
scripting
skills to set it up.
David Powers, Adobe Community Expert
Author, "The Essential Guide to Dreamweaver CS3" (friends of
ED)
Author, "PHP Solutions" (friends of ED)
http://foundationphp.com/