What is the function mysql_data_seek() used for in PHP and how can it help in this context?

The mysql_data_seek() function in PHP is used to move the result pointer to a specified row number in a result set obtained from a MySQL query. This can be helpful when you want to retrieve data from a specific row in the result set without having to re-execute the query. By using mysql_data_seek(), you can efficiently navigate through the result set and access the desired row of data. 

```php
// Connect to MySQL database
$connection = mysqli_connect("localhost", "username", "password", "database");

// Execute a query
$query = "SELECT * FROM table";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

// Move the result pointer to the 3rd row
mysqli_data_seek($result, 2);

// Fetch data from the 3rd row
$row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result);

// Display the data
echo $row['column_name'];
```
In this code snippet, we connect to a MySQL database, execute a query to retrieve data from a table, use mysql_data_seek() to move the result pointer to the 3rd row, fetch and display data from that row. This allows us to efficiently access specific rows in the result set without re-executing the query.

Keywords

mysql_data_seek PHP function data retrieval database manipulation

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