Quickstart: Use PHP to query a database in Azure SQL Database or Azure SQL Managed Instance

Applies to: Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance

This article demonstrates how to use PHP to connect to a database in Azure SQL Database or Azure SQL Managed Instance. You can then use T-SQL statements to query data.

Prerequisites

To complete this quickstart, you need:

• An Azure account with an active subscription. Create a Trial Subscription.

• A database in Azure SQL Database or Azure SQL Managed Instance. You can use one of these quickstarts to create and then configure a database:

  Action	SQL Database	SQL Managed Instance	SQL Server on Azure VM
  Create	Portal	Portal	Portal
  	CLI	CLI
  	PowerShell	PowerShell	PowerShell
  Configure	Server-level IP firewall rule	Connectivity from a VM
  		Connectivity from on-premises	Connect to a SQL Server instance
  Load data	Wide World Importers loaded per quickstart	Restore Wide World Importers	Restore Wide World Importers
  		Restore or import Adventure Works from a BACPAC file from GitHub	Restore or import Adventure Works from a BACPAC file from GitHub

  Important

  The scripts in this article are written to use the AdventureWorks2022 database. With a SQL Managed Instance, you must either import the AdventureWorks2022 database into an instance database or modify the scripts in this article to use the Wide World Importers database.

• PHP-related software installed for your operating system:

  • macOS, install PHP, the ODBC driver, then install the PHP Driver for SQL Server. See Step 1, 2, and 3.

  • Linux, install PHP, the ODBC driver, then install the PHP Driver for SQL Server. See Step 1, 2, and 3.

Get server connection information

Get the connection information you need to connect to the database in Azure SQL Database. You'll need the fully qualified server name or host name, database name, and login information for the upcoming procedures.

1. Sign in to the Azure portal.

2. Navigate to the SQL Databases or SQL Managed Instances page.

3. On the Overview page, review the fully qualified server name next to Server name for a database in Azure SQL Database or the fully qualified server name (or IP address) next to Host for an Azure SQL Managed Instance or SQL Server in an Azure VM. To copy the server name or host name, hover over it and select the Copy icon.

Add code to query the database

1. In your favorite text editor, create a new file, sqltest.php.

2. Replace its contents with the following code. Then add the appropriate values for your server, database, user, and password.

   <?php
       $serverName = "your_server.database.chinacloudapi.cn"; // update me
       $connectionOptions = array(
           "Database" => "your_database", // update me
           "Uid" => "your_username", // update me
           "PWD" => "your_password" // update me
       );
       //Establishes the connection
       $conn = sqlsrv_connect($serverName, $connectionOptions);
       $tsql= "SELECT TOP 20 pc.Name as CategoryName, p.name as ProductName
            FROM [SalesLT].[ProductCategory] pc
            JOIN [SalesLT].[Product] p
            ON pc.productcategoryid = p.productcategoryid";
       $getResults= sqlsrv_query($conn, $tsql);
       echo ("Reading data from table" . PHP_EOL);
       if ($getResults == FALSE)
           echo (sqlsrv_errors());
       while ($row = sqlsrv_fetch_array($getResults, SQLSRV_FETCH_ASSOC)) {
        echo ($row['CategoryName'] . " " . $row['ProductName'] . PHP_EOL);
       }
       sqlsrv_free_stmt($getResults);
   ?>
   

Run the code

1. At the command prompt, run the app.

   php sqltest.php
   

2. Verify the top 20 rows are returned and close the app window.

Related content

• Design your first database in Azure SQL Database
• Microsoft PHP Drivers for SQL Server
• Report issues or ask questions
• Retry logic example: Connect resiliently to Azure SQL with PHP