Fixing the td Content Update Problem in PHP: Changing Submission Status from Database

Learn how to effectively update the submission status of assignments in a student interface using PHP and MySQL.
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Understanding the Problem: Updating Assignment Submission Status

If you're building a student interface using PHP and MySQL, you might run into issues when trying to dynamically update the submission status of various assignments. You want each assignment to reflect whether a student has submitted their work or not, but your current implementation might mistakenly show all assignments as submitted or not submitted, rather than showing individual statuses.

This guide will walk you through how to properly link submission status from the database to your HTML table, ensuring that each assignment reflects the correct submission status for the logged-in student.

The Initial Setup: HTML and Database Structure

The foundation of your setup includes two database tables:

TABLE1 (Assignments): Contains all the assignments posted by faculty.

TABLE2 (Submitted Assignments): Contains the records of submissions from students, including a status column that indicates whether an assignment has been submitted (1) or not (0).

The HTML page displays assignments in a table format, with statuses represented by checkmarks or crosses. However, if the implementation isn't correctly aligned with how the database retrieves and displays these status values, you'll run into issues where incorrect statuses appear.

Example of Current HTML Table Structure

Your current HTML table looks something like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

The Problem in Your PHP Code

The core of the issue lies in how you're querying the submission status for each assignment. In your initial attempt, you were querying the status for all assignments at once and setting it in a way that didn't target individual assignments correctly:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This approach leads to every assignment row receiving the same status value, which doesn't reflect the unique submission status of each assignment.

The Solution: Adjusting Your PHP Logic

To ensure that each assignment displays the correct status, you need to move your SQL query for the submission status inside the loop that renders each assignment. This way, you consistently check the status based on the individual assignment name and the logged-in user.

Updated PHP Code Structure

Here's how you can rework your PHP code:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Key Changes Made:

The status check is now executed within the loop for each assignment.

The query checks for both the user's name and the specific assignment name, ensuring that the status reflects the individual assignment correctly.

Conclusion: Making Dynamic Status Updates Work

This adjustment allows each assignment displayed on the HTML page to accurately reflect whether the student has submitted their work. By refining how you query and display data, you ultimately create a more user-friendly experience that helps students keep track of their assignments.

If you encounter further issues, reviewing your SQL queries or debugging with print statements can also help track down any discrepancies. Happy coding!