doing a while true in a mysql exec statement in php

Yes you can do that with mysql proc...
However it's more likely that the loop is done in the calling script...

Thanks for replying but could you be more explicit and address the questions I asked directly.

There are no stored procedures on the database.

What is mysql proc? Are you referring to a php function or something in mysql?

But the original quesiton still stands, whether there is a better way of doing it or now, could you call a while statement inside mysql_query.

Thanks a lot for your help

I think you are trying to have a procedure that runs eternally. That is not a good idea. First of all, mysql and php may try to kill queries that take too long. Second, you may inadvertently end up locking tables while your procedure is running. Third, syntactically, there is no way to do this in simple mysql. As andieje mentioned, you could make a stored procedure, but that is a bad idea for the reasons given above.

So, there are a couple of things you should consider.

1. Why do you want this query to run continuously? If you are continually getting data into your database that needs to be fixed, you should probably fix it before it gets in, either with a TRIGGER or by modifying your insert statements.

2. If you can not control the data before it gets in, you should probably run your query at regular intervals (with cron or Task Scheduler)

Hi
I dont want to do this at all. I do not think it is a good idea at all. This was not my question. I think someone else might have done it. I do not currently have access to mysql to check. My question was asking for the correct syntax to run something such as this. Thanks a lot

well, then please clarify what REALLY you are looking for.
what is the task you want to achieve (and for a moment, don't care on how you want to achieve it)

Hi - yes i'm wearing the white site. I think my site was hacked. I know what happened just not how, I was wondering if it could have been passed in as a query string to some unchecked code which builds the $sql. Given the speed of the attack it must have been looped in one page load.

if you site is susceptible to sql insertion, the attacker could create a stored procedure. Also, if he has some knowledge of your db structure, he can make code that runs 1,000,000 times simply by joining a 1000 line table with itself.