Re: How do I combine 3 queries into one

[Rick James]

I'm still guessing what you what. You have not explained "stuff".

You should be able to do only one operation to get everything into item_cat_associations.

INSERT INTO stuff...
$item_id = insert_id();

INSERT INTO item_cat_associations SET
    item_id = $item_id, 
    cat_id = '$HTTP_POST_VARS[cat]'
    sub_id = ( SELECT subcategory.sub_id
          FROM subcategory
          WHERE subcategory='$HTTP_POST_VARS[subcat]' )
;