php codeigniter MySQL search query - mysql

Question

I want to create a search query on MySQL database that will consist of 5 different strings typed in from user. I want to query 5 different table columns with these strings.
When I for example have input fields like:
first name, last name, address, post number, city.
How should I query the database that I dont always get all the rows.
My query is something like this:
SELECT user_id, username
from users
where
a like %?% AND
b like %?% AND
c like %?% AND
d like %?% AND
e like %?%;
When I exchange the AND for OR I always get all the results which makes sense, and when I use AND I get only the exact matches...
Is there any function or statement that would help me with this?
EDIT
The code I use is:
$sql = "select users.user_id, first_name
from users
inner join user_normal_aos
on users.user_id = user_normal_aos.user_id
inner join normal_areas_of_expertise
on user_normal_aos.normal_areas_of_expertise_id = normal_areas_of_expertise.normal_areas_of_expertise_id
where
users.first_name like ? AND
users.kanzlei like ? AND
normal_areas_of_expertise.normal_aoe like ? AND
users.postcode like ? AND
users.city like ?";
$query = $this->db->query($sql,
array(
'%'.$lawyer_name.'%',
'%'.$kanzlei.'%',
'%'.$area_of_expertise.'%',
'%'.$post_code.'%',
'%'.$city.'%')
);

Answer 1

For example use PHP to adjust your query based on what fields you have entered.
$where = array();
$replacements = array();
/* you can also compare if string is not null or not empty...
this is just example using isset */
if (isset($lawyer_name)) {
$where[] = 'users.first_name like ?';
$replacements[] = '%'.$lawyer_name.'%';
}
/* repeat this if again for all your fields .... */
$sql = "..... where ".implode(' AND ', $where);
$query = $this->db->query($sql,
$replacements
);