PHP PDOStatement::execute Method

last modified April 19, 2025

The PDOStatement::execute method executes a prepared statement in PHP. It is a crucial part of secure database operations with PDO.

Basic Definition

PDOStatement::execute runs the prepared statement with bound parameters. It returns true on success or false on failure.

Syntax: PDOStatement::execute(array $input_parameters = null): bool. Parameters can be passed as an array or bound separately.

Basic Execute Example

This shows the simplest usage of PDOStatement::execute with positional parameters.

pdo_execute_basic.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

try { $pdo = new PDO(‘mysql:host=localhost;dbname=testdb’, ‘user’, ‘password’); $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);

$stmt = $pdo->prepare('INSERT INTO products (name, price) VALUES (?, ?)');
$stmt->execute(['Laptop', 999.99]);

echo "Product inserted successfully";

} catch (PDOException $e) { echo “Error: " . $e->getMessage(); }

This prepares an INSERT statement with two positional placeholders. The execute method receives values in an array matching the placeholders.

Named Parameters Example

This demonstrates using named parameters with PDOStatement::execute.

pdo_execute_named.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

try { $pdo = new PDO(‘mysql:host=localhost;dbname=testdb’, ‘user’, ‘password’); $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);

$stmt = $pdo->prepare('UPDATE users SET email = :email WHERE id = :id');
$stmt->execute(['email' => 'new@example.com', 'id' => 42]);

echo "User updated successfully";

} catch (PDOException $e) { echo “Error: " . $e->getMessage(); }

Named parameters make SQL statements more readable. The execute method takes an associative array where keys match parameter names.

Execute with BindParam

This shows binding parameters explicitly before execution.

pdo_execute_bindparam.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

try { $pdo = new PDO(‘mysql:host=localhost;dbname=testdb’, ‘user’, ‘password’); $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);

$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM orders WHERE total > :min AND status = :status');

$min = 100;
$status = 'completed';

$stmt->bindParam(':min', $min, PDO::PARAM_INT);
$stmt->bindParam(':status', $status, PDO::PARAM_STR);

$stmt->execute();

$orders = $stmt->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
print_r($orders);

} catch (PDOException $e) { echo “Error: " . $e->getMessage(); }

bindParam binds variables to parameters by reference. This allows changing variable values before execute. Parameter types are specified.

Execute with BindValue

This demonstrates binding values directly to parameters.

pdo_execute_bindvalue.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

try { $pdo = new PDO(‘mysql:host=localhost;dbname=testdb’, ‘user’, ‘password’); $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);

$stmt = $pdo->prepare('INSERT INTO logs (message, level, created_at) VALUES (:msg, :lvl, :dt)');

$stmt->bindValue(':msg', 'System started', PDO::PARAM_STR);
$stmt->bindValue(':lvl', 'INFO', PDO::PARAM_STR);
$stmt->bindValue(':dt', date('Y-m-d H:i:s'), PDO::PARAM_STR);

$stmt->execute();

echo "Log entry created";

} catch (PDOException $e) { echo “Error: " . $e->getMessage(); }

bindValue binds specific values to parameters. Unlike bindParam, the value is fixed at binding time. Useful for constant values.

Execute with Multiple Rows

This shows executing the same statement with different parameter sets.

pdo_execute_multiple.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

try { $pdo = new PDO(‘mysql:host=localhost;dbname=testdb’, ‘user’, ‘password’); $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);

$stmt = $pdo->prepare('INSERT INTO colors (name, hex_code) VALUES (?, ?)');

$colors = [
    ['Red', '#FF0000'],
    ['Green', '#00FF00'],
    ['Blue', '#0000FF']
];

foreach ($colors as $color) {
    $stmt->execute($color);
}

echo "Colors inserted successfully";

} catch (PDOException $e) { echo “Error: " . $e->getMessage(); }

The same prepared statement is executed multiple times with different parameter arrays. This is efficient for batch inserts.

Execute with Output Parameters

This demonstrates using output parameters with stored procedures.

pdo_execute_output.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

try { $pdo = new PDO(‘mysql:host=localhost;dbname=testdb’, ‘user’, ‘password’); $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);

$stmt = $pdo->prepare('CALL calculate_discount(:price, :discount OUT)');

$price = 100;
$discount = 0;

$stmt->bindParam(':price', $price, PDO::PARAM_INT);
$stmt->bindParam(':discount', $discount, PDO::PARAM_INT|PDO::PARAM_INPUT_OUTPUT, 10);

$stmt->execute();

echo "Original price: $price, Discount: $discount";

} catch (PDOException $e) { echo “Error: " . $e->getMessage(); }

This calls a stored procedure with an output parameter. The discount parameter is modified by the procedure and retrieved after execution.

Execute with Transactions

This shows using execute within a transaction for atomic operations.

pdo_execute_transaction.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

try { $pdo = new PDO(‘mysql:host=localhost;dbname=testdb’, ‘user’, ‘password’); $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);

$pdo->beginTransaction();

$stmt1 = $pdo->prepare('UPDATE accounts SET balance = balance - ? WHERE id = ?');
$stmt1->execute([100, 1]);

$stmt2 = $pdo->prepare('UPDATE accounts SET balance = balance + ? WHERE id = ?');
$stmt2->execute([100, 2]);

$pdo->commit();
echo "Funds transferred successfully";

} catch (PDOException $e) { $pdo->rollBack(); echo “Transfer failed: " . $e->getMessage(); }

This performs a money transfer between accounts. Both execute calls must succeed or the transaction is rolled back. Ensures data consistency.

Best Practices

• Always Use Prepared Statements: Prevents SQL injection.

• Specify Parameter Types: When using bindParam/bindValue.

• Reuse Statements: Prepare once, execute multiple times.

• Error Handling: Always catch PDOException.

• Close Cursors: Call closeCursor() when done.

Source

PHP PDOStatement::execute Documentation

This tutorial covered the PDOStatement::execute method with practical examples showing different usage scenarios and best practices.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.

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