Yes, that is an obvious way, but even then not necessarilly if you retrieve using a HASHREF. 
my $select = qq~SELECT field1 field2 field3 FROM $ref;~;
my $sth = $dbh->prepare( $select );
$sth->execute();
my ($field1, $field2, $field3) = $sth->fetchrow_array;

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Will get things EXACTLY where you want them, so would 
my @inarray = $sth->fetchrow_array();

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Or the alternative of having DBI return and arrayref.

But is the idea fo specifying the specific fields extensible and maintainable? My logic would be that if the table structure changes then wildcard of fields does not need to be changed. If you use the HASHREF methods of collecting the data from DBI then you only need be concerned about the actual fields when you look into the HASH for the values.

Of course I stand to be corrected on this, but I would think that having to change the code as well as the SQL is less maintainable than just having to change the code.

jdtoronto

Just like him: All opinions are purely mine and all code is untested, unless otherwise specified

In reply to Re: Re: DBI returning mysql columns in strange order. by jdtoronto
in thread DBI returning mysql columns in strange order. by neilwatson

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