Help viewing a variable $_GET['id']

[spdrus]

Can someone tell me an easy way that I could see the value that is being returned from . intval($_GET['id']) . I am not sure my MySQL query is returning the correct value. I've bolded the places where it is used.

Also, can someone explain the use of //echo before the final URL.

Thanks.

<?php
require_once('include/config.php');

// include classes and initiate new classes
require_once('include/class_template.php');
require_once('include/class_database.php');

$db = new database();

// update views
mysql_query("UPDATE videos SET views = views + 1, last_ip = '" . $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] . "', last_view = '" . time() . "' WHERE identifier = '". intval($_GET['id']) . "' AND site_id = 1 AND (last_ip != '" . $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] . "' OR last_view < '" . (time() - 10) . "')") or die(mysql_error());


$uid = 1516004866;
$uid = 1850294476;
$uid = rand (1850294475, 1850294500);

//echo 'http://today.launch.yahoo.com/player/medialog.asp?vid='.intval($_GET['id']).'&bw=310&mf=1&pid=621&ps=27&p1=2&p2=58&p3=1&rpid=35&pv=11&bp=Windows%2520NT&csid=396501336&uid=1434300406&pguid=yWH6ZkBGLeClaQase_p1pw&etid=0&uguid=4o7smuh2ctl7s&fcv=9&mh=e7d80ebaedd527ec9e421633762a7433||1164418835640&z=ms.asx';
?>

[clamcrusher]

$sql = "update blah.....";

echo $sql;

[spdrus]

Understood, just assign the update to a variable and echo the variable.

However, I am really new at this and the file in which this code is in is called 'play.php'

How do I run play.php to see the result of my echo?

[clamcrusher]

use your browser.
something like one of the following urls
http://example.com/play.php
http://example.com/some_dir/play.php

or if youre running php locally on your computer
http://localhost/play.php

btw, // comments out a line of php code. everything to the right of // on the same line will not be executed.

[spdrus]

Thanks clamcrusher--that's what I thought but sometimes the commented out lines are blue and sometimes not--I thought there was a difference