added login requirement to view articles to protect against potential data scrapping, with redirect functionality to the article the user attempts to view prior to login.

functions/db_functions.php

@@ -22,6 +22,19 @@ if ($_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] == 'localhost') {
     define('DB', 'vintagecoding');
 }
 
+function exec_stmt($stmt, $param_types, ...$args)
+{
+    $conn = get_connection();
+    $stmt = $conn->prepare($stmt);
+    $stmt->bind_param($param_types, ...$args);
+    $stmt->execute();
+    $result = $stmt->get_result();
+    if ($result)
+        return $result;
+    else
+        return mysqli_insert_id($conn);
+}
+
 function get_connection()
 {
     $conn = new mysqli(HOST, USER, PASS, DB);