How do I resolve "array_merge argument is not an array"? - php

Question

I am receiving an error that indicates that:
array_merge(): Argument #2 is not an array
I'm trying to resolve it but I'm not sure what else to try. Here is the code that I an executing:
$config = array();
$config['base_url'] = Application::getInstance()->request->getRootUri();
$config['public_url'] = $config['base_url'] . '/public';
$config['bower_components_url'] = $config['public_url'] . '/bower_components';
$app_config = array();
$app_config = require_once 'app/config/application.php';
$full_config = array_merge($config, $app_config, $data);
Argument app config requires this file:
return array (
'debug' => true,
'app_name' => 'Name',
'app_author' => 'Author',
'app_url' => '',
'session_prefix' => '',
'session_secret' => '',
);
Can someone help me to understand why I am receiving this error?

Answer 1

You need to put php opening tag at the beginning of this config file:
<?php
return array (
'debug' => true,
'app_name' => 'Name',
'app_author' => 'Author',
'app_url' => '',
'session_prefix' => '',
'session_secret' => '',
);
Enable error reporting and check if your path is correct.

Answer 2

The problem is you are defining $app_config as array then redefining it as a variable. Try this
$app_config = array();
$app_config[] = require_once 'app/config/application.php';

Answer 3

Doing this: $app_config = require_once 'app/config/application.php'; will return an object (not an array for sure). I think.
I think this method is more customizable.
app/config/functions.php
//this will be inside functions.php
function appConfig() {
return array (
'debug' => true,
'app_name' => 'Name',
'app_author' => 'Author',
'app_url' => '',
'session_prefix' => '',
'session_secret' => '',
);
}
Your main php file
require_once 'app/config/functions.php';
// your other code
$app_config = appConfig();
$full_config = array_merge($config, $app_config, $data);