PHP PDO - alternative for mysqli_num_rows

Question

With mysqli I can get the number of rows from a select query by using mysqli_num_rows. I can't find a way to do that with PDO without having to do a separate query like SELECT COUNT(*)? I don't see the point in doing a separate query when I already have a recordset.

Answer 1

You could use SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS as documented here. For example:

$result = $db->prepare("SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS id, name FROM fruit WHERE calories > 100"); 
$result->execute();
$result = $db->prepare("SELECT FOUND_ROWS()"); 
$result->execute();
$row_count =$result->fetchColumn();
echo $row_count;

This option is normally used to get full match counts when you have a LIMIT clause, however, it works just fine without one, and it's much more efficient than issuing the same query again with a COUNT(*) since it just retrieves the count value stored by the first query value and does not have to run another full query.

Answer 2

In Pdo you use rowCount. Example: $string-> rowCount ();