title: How to SELECT the total values from a column in MySQL?
body: <p>Here's what I'm currently using:</p>
  
  <pre><code>$query = mysql_query(" SELECT vote_count FROM votes ");
  while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($query)) {    
      $total_votes += $row['vote_count'];
  }
  
  echo $total_votes;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Is there a more concise way, perhaps in the query itself without having to use the while loop?</p>