PHP MySQLi mysqli_error() - Query Error Description

mysqli_error()

The mysqli_error() function returns the textual error description for the most recent function call on a specific connection.

EXAMPLE

<?php
$server = "localhost";
$username = "root";
$password = "";
$database = "mysqli_database";

$connection = mysqli_connect($server, $username, $password, $database);

// Intentionally incorrect table name to trigger a text-based error description
// NOTE: The database connection works, but since non_existent_table does not exist, 
// the mysqli_error() function will, instead of a number (1146), output the full official 
// error text reported by the MySQL server (Table... doesn't exist).
if (!mysqli_query($connection, "SELECT * FROM non_existent_table")) {
    echo "Error description: " . mysqli_error($connection);
}

mysqli_close($connection);
?>

RESULT

The result will be displayed here...

Practical use: This function is a programmer's best friend during development, as it tells us exactly where we made a mistake in the SQL statement. Test it at home like this:

It returns an empty value if no error occurred.

It requires the connection parameter ($connection).

Always use it in combination with an if statement after executing a query.