# Selecting and Displaying Records

A useful output begins with a query and ends with accessible, escaped HTML.

## Select only required fields

~~~php
$stmt = $pdo->query(
    "SELECT activity_id, activity_name, location, capacity
     FROM activities
     ORDER BY activity_name"
);
$activities = $stmt->fetchAll();
~~~

Avoid `SELECT *` when the page needs only particular fields.

## Display the result

~~~php
<?php if (!$activities): ?>
  <p>No activities are available.</p>
<?php else: ?>
  <table>
    <thead>
      <tr>
        <th scope="col">Activity</th>
        <th scope="col">Location</th>
        <th scope="col">Capacity</th>
      </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
      <?php foreach ($activities as $activity): ?>
        <tr>
          <td><?= htmlspecialchars($activity["activity_name"]) ?></td>
          <td><?= htmlspecialchars($activity["location"]) ?></td>
          <td><?= (int) $activity["capacity"] ?></td>
        </tr>
      <?php endforeach; ?>
    </tbody>
  </table>
<?php endif; ?>
~~~

The condition handles an empty dataset. The loop creates one row per record. Table headers support interpretation and accessibility.

## Check

- [ ] The query returns only needed fields.
- [ ] Ordering supports the user’s task.
- [ ] Empty results have a clear message.
- [ ] Text is escaped and numbers are cast.
- [ ] Headers describe each column.