Insert binary file into MySQL (BLOB) using PHP progaming

Before you start this lesson, I assume that you finished reading the following tutorials:

1. install phpmyAdmin, mysql , php
2. Create Database by using phpMyAdmin
3. Working with forms
4. Insert Form Data into Database
5. Retrieve data from Database
6. Insert binary file into MySQL using phpMyAdmin

This lession will demonstrate how to use PHP programming insert binary files into MySQL database BLOB column.

Insert Images into MySQL

There are 3 steps to insert binary files into MySQL BLOB columns:

1. Open database connection
2. Get binary file content
3. Insert file into database

Connect to Database

From lesson: Insert Form Data into Database and Retrieve data from Database we already knew how to open database connection. We repeat here:

<?php
$username="root";
$password="yourpassword"; //input your password here.
$database="phonebook"; //your database here

//connect to database
$connect=mysql_connect(localhost,$username,$password);
//select database
@mysql_select_db($database) or die("<b>Unable to specified database</b>");

Get binary file content

//get images
$myimage = "c:\yourpath\yourimagefile.gif";
$image = file_get_contents($myimage);
$content=addslashes($image);

file_get_contents get $myimage binary file content in string. addslashes() function will returns a string with backslashes before characters that need to be quoted in database queries. So those special characters in image file could be properly stored in database.

You may give a URL to $myimage like the following

$myimage = "http://www.yourwebsite.com/images/yourimage.gif";

Insert into databse

//query databae
$query="INSERT INTO gallery (image) VALUES ('$content')";
@mysql_query($query) or die('Error, insert query failed');
//close connection
mysql_close($connect);

INSERT INTO gallery (image) VALUES ('$content') will insert $contenst into gallery table image column.

Put it together:

<?php
$username="root";

$password="yourpassword"; //input your password here.
$database="phonebook"; //your database here

//connect to database
$connect=mysql_connect(localhost,$username,$password);
//select database
@mysql_select_db($database) or die("<b>Unable to specified database</b>");

//get images
$myimage = "c:\yourpath\yourimagefile.gif";;
$image = file_get_contents($myimage);
$content=addslashes($image);

//query databae
$query="INSERT INTO gallery (image) VALUES ('$content')";
@mysql_query($query) or die('Error, insert query failed');
//close connection
mysql_close($connect);
?>

There are other alternative ways to insert binary files into MySQL:

1. Using php programming insert binary files into MySQL
2. Using HTML Form and php progamming insert binary files into MySQL(local and remote)
3. Using PhpMyAdmin insert binary files.