How can the PHP function mysql_fetch_array impact the structure of arrays retrieved from a database query?

The PHP function mysql_fetch_array can impact the structure of arrays retrieved from a database query by returning both associative and numerical indices for each row fetched. This can make it confusing to access data in the array consistently. To solve this issue, you can specify the desired type of array index to be returned by using the MYSQL_ASSOC or MYSQL_NUM parameter in the function. 

// Retrieve data from a database query using mysql_fetch_array with specified array index type
$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM table");
while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result, MYSQL_ASSOC)) {
    // Access data using associative indices
    echo $row['column_name'];
}

Keywords

PHP mysql_fetch_array database query array structure impact

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