I have a field (TestID) in which I store the ID of the quizes a user is allowed to take. It could be 1 records, could be several, coma delimited (like 1, 2, 39, 103).

How could I pull them from db one by one? as I need to pass them to a query string like in examiner.asp?quizID=1?

Kind of knew that, but I do not know how to write it! I have tryed

  <%
   dim i, j
i=1
Set rs= MyConn.Execute("Select TestID from Login Where UserName = '" & Session("UserName") &"'")
While i < len(rs("TestID"))
  j=instr(i, ",", rs("TestID"))
  response.write("<p><a href = examiner.asp?quizID=" & mid(rs("TestID"), i, j-i-1) & ">" & "Test " & i & "</a></p>")
  i=j+1
Wend
rs.close
set rs = nothing%></p>
     

But it triggers the error : Invalid procedure call or argument: 'mid'

dim i,counter, testids
Set rs= MyConn.Execute("Select TestID from Login Where UserName = '" & Session("UserName") &"'")
testids = Split(rs("TestID"),",")
i = ubound(testids)
For counter = 0 to i
 Response.Write "TestID= " & testid(counter)
NEXT

This should work, have not tested it, just give it a shot...

zaboss....  one word... normalise!!! 

You shouldn't have multi-value data in a single field. Heaps of reasons against doing this, and if anything, performance will ususally improve.

Databases are designed and optimised to create and work with joins, not to run custom code requiring you to split values to work with them.

Flamewave is spot on.

Cheers,
Andrew

There would be no redundant data if you normalize the db like I think Falmewave said. If you just create a table e.g.
StudentID    TestID

In there you store all tests they are set up for. StudentID linking to the Student table and TestID to the test table. Would cause much less overhead because the database once gotten the request will work everything off and just return the results you need without having asp to use array data and work through it...

I see were you guys pointing... But I think this is too much trouble because the app has a different target. This is for companies to test either their employees, either people applying for jobs. Therefore, most likely a user will enter the app only once. There are 90% chances that a user account would be used only 1 time, then deleted. So, storring all than in another table (although linked) would cause more trouble that it is supposed to sort.

Not to mention that this is using mySQL which anyway forbide me to use inner joins or stored proc.  (But there are Access and SQL Server versions of the app - now I design all my apps with 3 diferent backends dbs).

why is it redundant data?  You're stll inserting the same data - its just that you're doing it properly!

The target of the app is prety much irrelevant. We're talking about general database design.

Here's a quick link, but there's heaps on normalisation if you googe it:
http://www.troubleshooters.com/littstip/ltnorm.html - http://www.troubleshooters.com/littstip/ltnorm.html

Cheers,
Andrew