How to Export MySQL Data as a Downloadable CSV File in PHP?

Creating a CSV File for Users in PHP

When working with data in a MySQL database, it can be useful to provide users with an option to export their data as a CSV file. This can be achieved by utilizing PHP's built-in CSV handling capabilities.

Downloading a Dynamic CSV File

To enable users to download a CSV file containing their data upon clicking a link, you can employ the following steps:

1. Prepare the CSV Data: Retrieve the data you want to export from the MySQL database.

2. Use PHP Headers: In your PHP script, set the following headers to prepare the file for download:

   header("Content-Type: text/csv");
   header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=file.csv");

3. Define an outputCSV Function: Create a function to format and output the CSV data:

   function outputCSV($data) {
     $output = fopen("php://output", "wb");
     foreach ($data as $row)
       fputcsv($output, $row); // Here you can specify delimiters and enclosures
     fclose($output);
   }

4. Call the outputCSV Function: Pass the prepared data to the outputCSV function to generate the CSV file and initiate the download.

Using php://output

php://output serves as a pseudo file in PHP, representing the output buffer for scripts. By opening php://output for writing, the outputCSV function can directly write the CSV data to the browser for download.

Using fputcsv

The fputcsv function allows you to write CSV data to a specified stream. It formats the data with appropriate delimiters (e.g., commas) and enclosures (e.g., quotes). By iterating over the data and using fputcsv, you can build the CSV file row by row.

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