Using count(*) vs num_rows

Question

To get number of rows in result set there are two ways:

1. Is to use query to get count

   $query=\"Select count(*) as count from some_table where type=

Answer 1

It depends on your implementation. If you're dealing with a lot of rows, count(*) is better because it doesn't have to pass all of those rows to PHP. If, on the other hand, you're dealing with a small amount of rows, the difference is negligible.