mysql is a built in function of php?

No, MySQL is a DataBase Management System (DBMS). Through PHP you can access information stored in MySQL and create dynamically created information.

see http://www.mysql.com/ for more information

but then why is that people are able to use it to retrieve data from the database using this function. i suspect it was built in because i cannot find the function created else where.

Another question is that

SQL/DB Error -- [You have an error in your SQL syntax. Check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near '' at line 1]
localhost,root,got problem?hmmm...
Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at ez_sql\ez_sql.php:93) in addcart.php on line 52

i keep getting this error and i'm really clueless on what has gone wrong?

In regards to your SQL/DB error.
You have to have MySQL installed before you can retrieve data from the database. You also must create a connection to the DBMS. If you have both your DBMS installed and a connection on the page double and triple check the syntax of your SQL, you may have a typo.

Your second error is in regards to headers which have to be the first information sent back to the browser. You can't modify them there.

Hope this helps

the sql/db error, everything is in orde. mysql is installed. the server is connected to the database. so i just don't understand why is there still a db/sql error and by the way i do not even knoe where the sql error comes from.

i understand i cannot modify the headers but then the information printed out first is a error msg indicating there is a sql error msg.

Are you sure your using MySQL? MySQL will usually throw an error that begins with MySQL Error not SQL/DB Error. At least that has been my experience. It would also appear that the error in your syntax is that the SQL query is empty.

I would not worry much about the headers problem. It is more than likely because the script is probably trying to access the db first, then set some cookies or a session but when the db throws an error it sends that error text, in effect passing headers.

but i cannot go to the page that i want because of that error. yes i am very sure that i'm using mysql.

Can you post the code for that page?

the header solve already. Yet another problem arises. whenever a person click add to the shopping cart, the cart details cannot be inserted into the table and the output page will say the shopping cart is empty. any idea what might cause it>?

Hard to say. It would be very good to take a look at script

Originally Posted by andrews_john

Hard to say. It would be very good to take a look at script

Ditto