mysql_result vs mysql_array_assoc

Question

Is there a performance difference between using mysql_result and mysql_array_assoc to loop through a large SQL select result?

Answer 1

From the mysql_result() manual page:

When working on large result sets, you should consider using one of the functions that fetch an entire row (specified below). As these functions return the contents of multiple cells in one function call, they're MUCH quicker than mysql_result(). Also, note that specifying a numeric offset for the field argument is much quicker than specifying a fieldname or tablename.fieldname argument.

So it seems that mysql_array_assoc(), one of the functions that quote refers to, is going to be your best bet.