Why is PHP if statement not working in query

Question

Value is coming through from form submission.

    if(isset($_POST['Submit']))
    {
    $name=$_POST["Name"];
    }
    ?>

Does not use if statement. Whether $name is empty or not, always adds where clause.

    <?php
    $sql = "SELECT * FROM dirCsv_500" ?>
     <?php if (!empty($name)) {
       " where name like '%".$name."%'";
    } ?>

Answer 1

you can do it like this:

if(isset($_POST['Name']))
 {
  $name=$_POST["Name"];
  // do what you need with given $name 
  //and then:
  sql = "SELECT * FROM dirCsv_500 WHERE name LIKE '%".$name."%'";
 }
else
 {
  sql = "SELECT * FROM dirCsv_500";
 }