# PDOStatement->bindColumn()

(PHP 5 >= 5.1.0, PECL pdo:0.1-1.0.3)

PDOStatement->bindColumn() — Bind a column to a PHP variable

### Description

PDOStatement
bool bindColumn ( mixed `$column` , mixed `&$param` [, int `$type` ] )

PDOStatement->bindColumn() arranges to have a particular variable bound to a given column in the result-set from a query. Each call to PDOStatement->fetch() or PDOStatement->fetchAll() will update all the variables that are bound to columns.

> Note: Since information about the columns is not always available to PDO until the statement is executed, portable applications should call this function after PDOStatement->execute().

### Parameters

`column`

  Number of the column (1-indexed) or name of the column in the result set. If using the column name, be aware that the name should match the case of the column, as returned by the driver.

`param`

  Name of the PHP variable to which the column will be bound.

`type`

  Data type of the parameter, specified by the PDO::PARAM_* constants.

### Return Values

Returns `TRUE` on success or `FALSE` on failure.

### Examples

Example#1 Binding result set output to PHP variables

Binding columns in the result set to PHP variables is an effective way to make the data contained in each row immediately available to your application. The following example demonstrates how PDO allows you to bind and retrieve columns with a variety of options and with intelligent defaults.

`<?php
function readData($dbh) {
$sql = 'SELECT name, colour, calories FROM fruit';
try {
$stmt = $dbh->prepare($sql);
$stmt->execute();
/* Bind by column number */
$stmt->bindColumn(1, $name);
$stmt->bindColumn(2, $colour);
/* Bind by column name */
$stmt->bindColumn('calories', $cals);
while ($row = $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_BOUND)) {
$data = $name . "\t" . $colour . "\t" . $cals . "\n";
print $data;
}
}
catch (PDOException $e) {
print $e->getMessage();
}
}
readData($dbh);
?>`

The above example will output:

    apple   red     150
    banana  yellow  175
    kiwi    green   75
    orange  orange  150
    mango   red     200
    strawberry      red     25

### See Also

- PDOStatement->execute()
- PDOStatement->fetch()
- PDOStatement->fetchAll()
- PDOStatement->fetchColumn()