Syntax error in my registration form

Question

I have a syntax error in my php script and cannot figure out why this is failing. Here is my code:

PHP

<?php

if ($_SERVER [ 'REQUEST_METHOD' ] == 'POST' )

    {
        require ('connect_db.php');
        $errors = array();



if (empty($_POST[ 'first_name']))   

    {$errors[] = 'Enter your first name.';}

else

    {$fn = mysqli_real_escape_string($dbc,
                            trim($_POST[ 'first_name']));}

if (empty($_POST[ 'last_name']))

    { $errors[] = 'Enter your last name' ; }

else

    {$fn = mysqli_real_escape_string($dbc,
                            trim($_POST[ 'last_name']));}

if (empty($_POST[ 'email']))

    { $errors[] = 'Enter your email address' ; }

else

    {$fn = mysqli_real_escape_string($dbc,
                            trim($_POST[ 'email']));}   


    }

if ( !empty($_POST[ 'pass1'])) 

    {

    if ( $_POST[ 'pass1' ] != $_POST [ 'pass2' ] )
    { $errors[] = 'Passwords do not match.' ; }
    else
    { $p = mysqli_real_escape_string($dbc,
                            trim($_POST[ 'pass1']));}
    }
    else { $errors[] = 'Enter your password.' ;}

if ( empty( $errors ))

    {
        $q = "SELECT user_id FROM users WHERE email='$e'" ;
        $r = mysqli_query ($dbc , $q );
        if (mysqli_num_rows( $r ) ! = 0 )
        { $errors[] = 'Email address already registered.
                        <a href="login.php">Login</a>'; }
    }

if (empty( $errors ))

    {

        $q = "INSERT INTO users
            (first_name, last_name, email, pass, reg_date)
            VALUES ('$fn', $In', '$e', SHA1('$p'), NOW() )" ;

        $r = mysqli_query ( $dbc, $q );

if ( $r )

    {
        echo '<h1>Registered!</h1>
              <p>You are now registered</p>
              <p><a href="login.php">Login</a></p>';

    }

    mysqli_close( $dbc );
    exit();

    }

else

    {
        echo '<h1>Error!</h1>
              <p id="error_msg">The following error(s) occurred<br>' ;
              foreach ( $errors as $msg )

    {
        echo " - $msg<br>" ;

    }

        echo 'Please try again.</p>' ;
        mysqli_close( $dbc );
    }

?>

Here is my HTML form

<h1>Register</h1>

<form action="register.php" method="post">
<p>
First name: <input type="text" name="first_name"
value="<?php if ( isset( $_POST[ 'first_name' ] ))
        echo $_POST[ 'first_name' ] ; ?>" />

 Last name: <input type="text" name="last_name"
value="<?php if ( isset( $_POST[ 'first_name' ] ))
        echo $_POST[ 'last_name' ] ; ?>" />

</p><p>

Email address: <input type="text" name="email"
value="<?php if ( isset( $_POST[ 'email' ] ))
        echo $_POST[ 'email' ] ; ?>" />

</p><p>

Password: <input type="password" name="pass1"
value="<?php if ( isset( $_POST[ 'pass1' ] ))
        echo $_POST[ 'pass1' ] ; ?>" />    

Confirm password: <input type="password" name="pass2"
value="<?php if ( isset( $_POST[ 'pass2' ] ))
        echo $_POST[ 'pass2' ] ; ?>" />      

</p><p>

<input type="submit" value="Register" /> </p>

</form>

The failing line is:

if ( empty( $errors ))

    {
        $q = "SELECT user_id FROM users WHERE email='$e'" ;
        $r = mysqli_query ($dbc , $q );
        if (mysqli_num_rows( $r ) ! = 0 )
        { $errors[] = 'Email address already registered.


            <a href="login.php">Login</a>'; }
}

If I take this line out the form displays but obviously will nt update my database without it. Are there any suggestions on what is happening here?

Answer 1

Remove the space between ! and =

It should be

if (mysqli_num_rows( $r ) != 0 )

Answer 2

$e isn't defined anywhere that I can see. Try making sure that you're setting $e equal to something.

If that doesn't fix it, please post what exact error message you're getting.

Also, please use a consistent bracket/indenting style. It took awhile to figure out because the brackets weren't lining up, which is a real important thing especially in PHP. I've fixed your indenting here:

<?php

if ($_SERVER [ 'REQUEST_METHOD' ] == 'POST' ){
    require ('connect_db.php');
    $errors = array();

    if (empty($_POST[ 'first_name'])){
        $errors[] = 'Enter your first name.';
    }
    else {
        $fn = mysqli_real_escape_string($dbc,
        trim($_POST[ 'first_name']));
    }

    if (empty($_POST[ 'last_name'])){ 
        $errors[] = 'Enter your last name' ; 
    }
    else {
        $fn = mysqli_real_escape_string($dbc,
        trim($_POST[ 'last_name']));
    }

    if (empty($_POST[ 'email'])){ 
        $errors[] = 'Enter your email address' ; 
    }
    else {
        $fn = mysqli_real_escape_string($dbc,
        trim($_POST[ 'email']));
    }   

}

if ( !empty($_POST[ 'pass1'])) {

    if ( $_POST[ 'pass1' ] != $_POST [ 'pass2' ] ){ 
        $errors[] = 'Passwords do not match.' ; 
    }
    else { 
        $p = mysqli_real_escape_string($dbc,
        trim($_POST[ 'pass1']));
    }
}
else { 
    $errors[] = 'Enter your password.' ;
}

if ( empty( $errors )){
    $q = "SELECT user_id FROM users WHERE email='$e'" ;
    $r = mysqli_query ($dbc , $q );
    if (mysqli_num_rows( $r ) ! = 0 ){ 
        $errors[] = 'Email address already registered.
        <a href="login.php">Login</a>'; 
    }
}

if (empty( $errors )){

    $q = "INSERT INTO users
        (first_name, last_name, email, pass, reg_date)
        VALUES ('$fn', $In', '$e', SHA1('$p'), NOW() )" ;

    $r = mysqli_query ( $dbc, $q );

    if ( $r ){
        echo '<h1>Registered!</h1>
              <p>You are now registered</p>
              <p><a href="login.php">Login</a></p>';
    }

    mysqli_close( $dbc );
    exit();
}
else {
    echo '<h1>Error!</h1>
          <p id="error_msg">The following error(s) occurred<br>' ;
    foreach ( $errors as $msg ){
        echo " - $msg<br>" ;
    }

    echo 'Please try again.</p>';
    mysqli_close( $dbc );
}

?>