Count Data from a Table

// way 1
$cat = $_GET['cat'];
$sql = mysql_query("SELECT * from tablename where idcattegory='$cat'");
$count = mysql_num_rows($sql);

echo "There are $count rows in table..";

// way 2
$cat = $_GET['cat'];
$sql = mysql_query("SELECT count(*) as total from tablename where idcattegory='$cat'");
$data= mysql_fetch_array($sql);

echo "There are $data[total] rows in table..";