fetch vs. fetch_object in PDO, which to use when?

[peterv12]

I've searched the PHP documentation, and can't find an answer for this. When coding PHP using PDO, what is the difference between using fetch and using fetch_object? Everything I've read about them seems to say they do exactly the same thing.
Thanks,
Peter V.

 

[jpadie]

nope.

the fetchObject() method is a shorthand form for $statement->fetch( PDO::FETCH_OBJ )

the fetch method can accept a variety of constants as the first argument that causes the method to return the data in different formats. the fetchObject() method will only return the data as an anonymous (or defined) object.

try{
  $statement = $pdo->prepare('Select * from table');
  $statement->execute();
  while ($row = $statement->fetchObject()):
     //do something with $row
  endwhile;
} catch (PDOException $e) {
  print_r($e);
}

is equivalent to

try{
  $statement = $pdo->prepare('Select * from table');
  $statement->execute();
  while ($row = $statement->[red]fetch( PDO::FETCH_OBJ )[/red]):
     //do something with $row
  endwhile;
} catch (PDOException $e) {
  print_r($e);
}

 

[peterv12]

Thanks jpadie! I did some more searching of the PHP manual after reading your reply, and it makes sense now!

PETERV
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