Basic table creation fpdf

Question

I can't find a decent tutorials for making tables using fpdf and fetching data from the mysql database. I just want to know how to create one. I've been getting lot of errors for trying samples across the web.

For example, I have columns, First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Age, and Email.

How do I create a table using fpdf and echo the entries from the database?

Answer 1

Reading and following a tutorial on FPDF site might be a good start.

Assuming that you have a table (lets call it people) and sample data like this

CREATE TABLE People
    (id int, 
     first_name varchar(5), 
     middle_name varchar(4), 
     last_name varchar(5), 
     age int, 
     email varchar(15));

INSERT INTO People
    (id, first_name, middle_name, last_name, age, email)
VALUES
    (1, 'Jhon', NULL, 'Doe', 27, 'jhon@email.com'),
    (2, 'Mark', 'J', 'Lee', 35, 'mark@email.com'),
    (3, 'Helen', 'P', 'Smith', 30, 'helen@email.com');

Here is a basic php script that do what you want. Note: code lacks any error handling for brevity's sake.

<?php
require('fpdf.php');

class People {
    public function all() {
        try {
            $db = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=test;charset=UTF-8', 'user', 'password');
            $query = $db->prepare("SELECT first_name, middle_name, last_name, age, email FROM people ");
            $query->execute();
            $people = $query->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
        } catch (PDOException $e) {
            //echo "Exeption: " .$e->getMessage();
            $result = false;
        }
        $query = null;
        $db = null;
        return $people;        
    }
}

class PeoplePDF extends FPDF {
    // Create basic table
    public function CreateTable($header, $data)
    {
        // Header
        $this->SetFillColor(0);
        $this->SetTextColor(255);
        $this->SetFont('','B');
        foreach ($header as $col) {
            //Cell(float w [, float h [, string txt [, mixed border [, int ln [, string align [, boolean fill [, mixed link]]]]]]])
            $this->Cell($col[1], 10, $col[0], 1, 0, 'L', true);
        }
        $this->Ln();
        // Data
        $this->SetFillColor(255);
        $this->SetTextColor(0);
        $this->SetFont('');
        foreach ($data as $row)
        {
            $i = 0;
            foreach ($row as $field) {
                $this->Cell($header[$i][1], 6, $field, 1, 0, 'L', true);
                $i++;
            }
            $this->Ln();
        }
    }
}

// Column headings
$header = array(
             array('First Name',  30), 
             array('Middle Name', 30), 
             array('Last Name',   30),
             array('Age',         12),
             array('Email',       47)
          );
// Get data
$people = new People();
$data = $people->all();

$pdf = new PeoplePDF();
$pdf->SetFont('Arial', '', 12);
$pdf->AddPage();
$pdf->CreateTable($header,$data);
$pdf->Output();

Make sure to change connection string

$db = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=test;charset=UTF-8', 'user', 'password');
                          ^^^^^^^^^        ^^^^                  ^^^^    ^^^^^^^^