Related
I am writing some PHP code that would generate HTML files from templates.
I would like, if possible, to make a function that would take any strings I feed the function with, and put that into the file. Like so:
function generator($a, $b, $c, $n...){
$filename = $a . ".html";
ob_start ();
echo $b;
echo $c;
echo $d;
echo $n...;
$buffer = ob_get_clean();
file_put_contents($a, $buffer);
}
I need this, because different pages would have different number of include files, and with this I would be able to skip making different functions for specific pages. Just an iterator, and that's it.
Thanks!
From PHP 5.6+ you can use ... to indicate a variable number of arguments:
function test (... $args)
{
foreach ($args as $arg) {
echo $arg;
}
}
test("testing", "variable"); // testing variable
Demo
Variable-length argument lists from the manual
So, your function would look something like this:
function generator($a, $b, $c, ... $n) {
$filename = $a . ".html";
ob_start();
echo $b;
echo $c;
foreach ($n as $var) {
echo $var;
}
$buffer = ob_get_clean();
file_put_contents($a, $buffer);
}
You can also use variadic functions (PHP 5.6+) :
function generator($a, ...$args) {
echo $a . "\n";
print_r($args);
}
generator("test", 1, 2, 3, 4);
Outputs :
"test"
Array
(
[0] => 1
[1] => 2
[2] => 3
[3] => 4
)
You can make it using an array as following :
function generator($array){
// set the first item of the array as name of the .html file and take it out of the array.
$filename = array_shift($array) . ".html";
ob_start ();
// echo all the array fields
foreach($array as $a){
echo $a;
}
$buffer = ob_get_clean();
file_put_contents($a, $buffer);
}
You can pass the array directly to call the function like the following :
generator( ["val_1", "val_2", "val_3"] );
Just use func_get_args(); inside your function to return an array of all arguments passed in.
You can also use func_get_arg($arg_num) to return a specific argument, or func_num_args to return the number of arguments.
All PHP functions allow any number of parameters, they just won't be callable by name, the only way is with these 3 functions.
Note, you may use a variadic argument as the last in the parameter list like so:
function my_func($x,$y, ... $z){
//Now $z is an array of all arguments after the first two
}
In the process of good design, I would think carefully about when and where to use things such as this. For example I currently work on a project that probably has over 200K lines of code and for better of worse this is actually never used.
The most common way is to pass an array "struct" to the method:
$args = array();
$args['kitchen'] = 'sink';
$args['bath'] = 'room';
$args['cat'] = array('fur','tail');
$func->someFunction($args);
If you wanted to have more control over the data you could create a struct and access that within the class. Public functions act as handlers.
class SomeClass {
....
private $args
public function setArgs($arg1,$arg2,$arg3) {
$this->arg1 = $arg1;
...
}
public function getArgs() {
return $this->args;
}
More rarely you can have C++ like control where you use a class just as a struct:
class MyStruct {
public $foo;
public $bar;
private $secret;
private function getSecret() {
return $secret;
}
protect function setSecret($val) {
$secret = $val;
}
}
Already mentioned is '...' which I nearly never see but it's interesting, though how useful ? Does this help explain what is going on?
function someFunction(... $args)
Usually you will see a mix of things in methods which helps articulate the purpose of it.
private function someSmallFunc($list = array(), $val = '', $limit = 10)
This example is to illustrate the natural grouping of information, data is in a list, $val is used for something to control the method along with $limit say limits the number of query results. Hence, you should think in this way about your methods IMO.
Also if you notice default values are set ($limit = 10) to in case they aren't passed in. For example if you call someSmallFunc($data, $someVal) (opposed to say someSmallFunc($data, $someVal, 20) ) and not pass in $limit it will default to 10.
I have some property $abc (type array) in object:
$this->abc = array(
'id' => 123,
'status' => 'close'
);
There is some solution to using this property as array or string? Like that:
echo $this->abc; // return first element of array: 123
echo $this->abc['status']; // return element by key: close
Maybe getter and setter or Reflection?
EDIT:
I prepare some like this, but all returns id value:
class Test {
private $abc;
public function __construct() {
$this->abc = array(
'id' => '123',
'status' => 'close'
);
}
public function __get($key) {
if ($key === 'abc') {
echo $this->abc['id'];
}
}
}
$t = new Test();
echo $t->abc['id']; // return 123 - correct!
echo $t->abc['status']; // return 123 - incorrect, should be return 'close' string
echo $t->abc; // return 123 - correct
Any suggestion?
Actually you can't do exactly what your example shows.
Magic methods (what a silly name, btw) simply allow you to get and set properties, so that some_object->a can be handled with custom code, but you cannot tell PHP to handle
some_object->a and some_object->a[0] differently.
You are free to have your custom getter return an int, an array or an elephant, but that's it.
EDIT: Your code does nothing but print abc['id'] each time the property is referenced.
abc is still handled as any plain old property.
Let's replace echo with return
public function __get($key) {
if ($key === 'abc') {
return$this->abc['id'];
}
}
Now whenever you reference abc, the getter gives you "123".
Demonstration:
echo $t->abc['id']; // 'id' evaluates to 0, so result is "1" ("123"[0])
echo $t->abc['status']; // same thing
echo $t->abc; // "123" - correct (of sorts)
echo $t->abc[1]; // "2" (2nd character of "123")
You are also free do do stupid things like that:
class fairytale {
private static $handsome =
array ("Prince Valliant", "Superman", "Flash Gordon");
private static $ugly =
array ("Michael Moore", "Condoleezza Rice", "Ronald McDonald");
function __get ($prop)
{
if ($prop=='frog')
return self::$handsome;
if (preg_match ('/^frog\\[([0-9]*)\\]$/', $prop, $res))
return self::$ugly[$res[1]];
}
}
function kiss ($prince)
{
echo "$prince appears in a puff of smoke...\n";
}
$pond = new fairytale();
$frog1 = $pond->frog[0]; // <-- array subscript parsed before getter is called
$frog2 = 'frog[0]';
$frog2 = $pond->$frog2; // <-- array subscript parsed inside getter
kiss ($frog1);
kiss ($frog2); // <--- surprise!
As a side note, abusing custom getters/setters to turn frogs into princes might be a lot of fun and a fine display of PHP expertise, but it's unlikely to produce readable and maintainable code.
Just my opinion, of course.
If you want to process the value when fetch or set the value, you can use __get / __set
You can use magic methods __set and __get, for example
class someClass{
private $_arr = array();
public function __set($key, $val){
if(!array_key_exists($key, $this->_arr)){
$this->_arr[$key] = array();
}
$this->_arr[$key] = array_merge($this->_arr[$key], (array)$val);
}
public function &__get($key) {
return $this->_arr[$key];
}
}
$obj = new someClass();
$obj->setvalue = array(5,6,7);
$obj->setvalue = 4;
You could also just do
reset($this->abc);
for the first element.
What does the & before the function name signify?
Does that mean that the $result is returned by reference rather than by value?
If yes then is it correct? As I remember you cannot return a reference to a local variable as it vanishes once the function exits.
function &query($sql) {
// ...
$result = mysql_query($sql);
return $result;
}
Also where does such a syntax get used in practice ?
Does that mean that the $result is returned by reference rather than by value?
Yes.
Also where does such a syntax get used in practice ?
This is more prevalent in PHP 4 scripts where objects were passed around by value by default.
To answer the second part of your question, here a place there I had to use it: Magic getters!
class FooBar {
private $properties = array();
public function &__get($name) {
return $this->properties[$name];
}
public function __set($name, $value) {
$this->properties[$name] = $value;
}
}
If I hadn't used & there, this wouldn't be possible:
$foobar = new FooBar;
$foobar->subArray = array();
$foobar->subArray['FooBar'] = 'Hallo World!';
Instead PHP would thrown an error saying something like 'cannot indirectly modify overloaded property'.
Okay, this is probably only a hack to get round some maldesign in PHP, but it's still useful.
But honestly, I can't think right now of another example. But I bet there are some rare use cases...
Does that mean that the $result is returned by reference rather than by value?
No. The difference is that it can be returned by reference. For instance:
<?php
function &a(&$c) {
return $c;
}
$c = 1;
$d = a($c);
$d++;
echo $c; //echoes 1, not 2!
To return by reference you'd have to do:
<?php
function &a(&$c) {
return $c;
}
$c = 1;
$d = &a($c);
$d++;
echo $c; //echoes 2
Also where does such a syntax get used in practice ?
In practice, you use whenever you want the caller of your function to manipulate data that is owned by the callee without telling him. This is rarely used because it's a violation of encapsulation – you could set the returned reference to any value you want; the callee won't be able to validate it.
nikic gives a great example of when this is used in practice.
<?php
// You may have wondered how a PHP function defined as below behaves:
function &config_byref()
{
static $var = "hello";
return $var;
}
// the value we get is "hello"
$byref_initial = config_byref();
// let's change the value
$byref_initial = "world";
// Let's get the value again and see
echo "Byref, new value: " . config_byref() . "\n"; // We still get "hello"
// However, let’s make a small change:
// We’ve added an ampersand to the function call as well. In this case, the function returns "world", which is the new value.
// the value we get is "hello"
$byref_initial = &config_byref();
// let's change the value
$byref_initial = "world";
// Let's get the value again and see
echo "Byref, new value: " . config_byref() . "\n"; // We now get "world"
// If you define the function without the ampersand, like follows:
// function config_byref()
// {
// static $var = "hello";
// return $var;
// }
// Then both the test cases that we had previously would return "hello", regardless of whether you put ampersand in the function call or not.
This failed:
define('DEFAULT_ROLES', array('guy', 'development team'));
Apparently, constants can't hold arrays. What is the best way to get around this?
define('DEFAULT_ROLES', 'guy|development team');
//...
$default = explode('|', DEFAULT_ROLES);
This seems like unnecessary effort.
Since PHP 5.6, you can declare an array constant with const:
<?php
const DEFAULT_ROLES = array('guy', 'development team');
The short syntax works too, as you'd expect:
<?php
const DEFAULT_ROLES = ['guy', 'development team'];
If you have PHP 7, you can finally use define(), just as you had first tried:
<?php
define('DEFAULT_ROLES', array('guy', 'development team'));
PHP 5.6+ introduced const arrays - see Andrea Faulds' answer.
You can also serialize your array and then put it into the constant:
# define constant, serialize array
define ("FRUITS", serialize (array ("apple", "cherry", "banana")));
# use it
$my_fruits = unserialize (FRUITS);
You can store them as static variables of a class:
class Constants {
public static $array = array('guy', 'development team');
}
# Warning: array can be changed lateron, so this is not a real constant value:
Constants::$array[] = 'newValue';
If you don't like the idea that the array can be changed by others, a getter might help:
class Constants {
private static $array = array('guy', 'development team');
public static function getArray() {
return self::$array;
}
}
$constantArray = Constants::getArray();
EDIT
Since PHP5.4, it is even possible to access array values without the need for intermediate variables, i.e. the following works:
$x = Constants::getArray()['index'];
If you are using PHP 5.6 or above, use Andrea Faulds answer
I am using it like this. I hope, it will help others.
config.php
class app{
private static $options = array(
'app_id' => 'hello',
);
public static function config($key){
return self::$options[$key];
}
}
In file, where I need constants.
require('config.php');
print_r(app::config('app_id'));
This is what I use. It is similar to the example provided by soulmerge, but this way you can get the full array or just a single value in the array.
class Constants {
private static $array = array(0 => 'apple', 1 => 'orange');
public static function getArray($index = false) {
return $index !== false ? self::$array[$index] : self::$array;
}
}
Use it like this:
Constants::getArray(); // Full array
// OR
Constants::getArray(1); // Value of 1 which is 'orange'
You can store it as a JSON string in a constant. And application point of view, JSON can be useful in other cases.
define ("FRUITS", json_encode(array ("apple", "cherry", "banana")));
$fruits = json_decode (FRUITS);
var_dump($fruits);
PHP 7+
As of PHP 7, you can just use the define() function to define a constant array :
define('ANIMALS', [
'dog',
'cat',
'bird'
]);
echo ANIMALS[1]; // outputs "cat"
I know it's a bit old question, but here is my solution:
<?php
class Constant {
private $data = [];
public function define($constant, $value) {
if (!isset($this->data[$constant])) {
$this->data[$constant] = $value;
} else {
trigger_error("Cannot redefine constant $constant", E_USER_WARNING);
}
}
public function __get($constant) {
if (isset($this->data[$constant])) {
return $this->data[$constant];
} else {
trigger_error("Use of undefined constant $constant - assumed '$constant'", E_USER_NOTICE);
return $constant;
}
}
public function __set($constant,$value) {
$this->define($constant, $value);
}
}
$const = new Constant;
I defined it because I needed to store objects and arrays in constants so I installed also runkit to php so I could make the $const variable superglobal.
You can use it as $const->define("my_constant",array("my","values")); or just $const->my_constant = array("my","values");
To get the value just simply call $const->my_constant;
Yes, You can define an array as constant. From PHP 5.6 onwards, it is possible to define a constant as a scalar expression, and it is also possible to define an array constant. It is possible to define constants as a resource, but it should be avoided, as it can cause unexpected results.
<?php
// Works as of PHP 5.3.0
const CONSTANT = 'Hello World';
echo CONSTANT;
// Works as of PHP 5.6.0
const ANOTHER_CONST = CONSTANT.'; Goodbye World';
echo ANOTHER_CONST;
const ANIMALS = array('dog', 'cat', 'bird');
echo ANIMALS[1]; // outputs "cat"
// Works as of PHP 7
define('ANIMALS', array(
'dog',
'cat',
'bird'
));
echo ANIMALS[1]; // outputs "cat"
?>
With the reference of this link
Have a happy coding.
Can even work with Associative Arrays.. for example in a class.
class Test {
const
CAN = [
"can bark", "can meow", "can fly"
],
ANIMALS = [
self::CAN[0] => "dog",
self::CAN[1] => "cat",
self::CAN[2] => "bird"
];
static function noParameter() {
return self::ANIMALS[self::CAN[0]];
}
static function withParameter($which, $animal) {
return "who {$which}? a {$animal}.";
}
}
echo Test::noParameter() . "s " . Test::CAN[0] . ".<br>";
echo Test::withParameter(
array_keys(Test::ANIMALS)[2], Test::ANIMALS["can fly"]
);
// dogs can bark.
// who can fly? a bird.
if you're using PHP 7 & 7+, you can use fetch like this as well
define('TEAM', ['guy', 'development team']);
echo TEAM[0];
// output from system will be "guy"
Using explode and implode function we can improvise a solution :
$array = array('lastname', 'email', 'phone');
define('DEFAULT_ROLES', implode (',' , $array));
echo explode(',' ,DEFAULT_ROLES ) [1];
This will echo email.
If you want it to optimize it more you can define 2 functions to do the repetitive things for you like this :
//function to define constant
function custom_define ($const , $array) {
define($const, implode (',' , $array));
}
//function to access constant
function return_by_index ($index,$const = DEFAULT_ROLES) {
$explodedResult = explode(',' ,$const ) [$index];
if (isset ($explodedResult))
return explode(',' ,$const ) [$index] ;
}
Hope that helps . Happy coding .
Doing some sort of ser/deser or encode/decode trick seems ugly and requires you to remember what exactly you did when you are trying to use the constant. I think the class private static variable with accessor is a decent solution, but I'll do you one better. Just have a public static getter method that returns the definition of the constant array. This requires a minimum of extra code and the array definition cannot be accidentally modified.
class UserRoles {
public static function getDefaultRoles() {
return array('guy', 'development team');
}
}
initMyRoles( UserRoles::getDefaultRoles() );
If you want to really make it look like a defined constant you could give it an all caps name, but then it would be confusing to remember to add the '()' parentheses after the name.
class UserRoles {
public static function DEFAULT_ROLES() { return array('guy', 'development team'); }
}
//but, then the extra () looks weird...
initMyRoles( UserRoles::DEFAULT_ROLES() );
I suppose you could make the method global to be closer to the define() functionality you were asking for, but you really should scope the constant name anyhow and avoid globals.
You can define like this
define('GENERIC_DOMAIN',json_encode(array(
'gmail.com','gmail.co.in','yahoo.com'
)));
$domains = json_decode(GENERIC_DOMAIN);
var_dump($domains);
Constants can only contain scalar values, I suggest you store the serialization (or JSON encoded representation) of the array.
If you are looking this from 2009, and you don't like AbstractSingletonFactoryGenerators, here are a few other options.
Remember, arrays are "copied" when assigned, or in this case, returned, so you are practically getting the same array every time. (See copy-on-write behaviour of arrays in PHP.)
function FRUITS_ARRAY(){
return array('chicken', 'mushroom', 'dirt');
}
function FRUITS_ARRAY(){
static $array = array('chicken', 'mushroom', 'dirt');
return $array;
}
function WHAT_ANIMAL( $key ){
static $array = (
'Merrick' => 'Elephant',
'Sprague' => 'Skeleton',
'Shaun' => 'Sheep',
);
return $array[ $key ];
}
function ANIMAL( $key = null ){
static $array = (
'Merrick' => 'Elephant',
'Sprague' => 'Skeleton',
'Shaun' => 'Sheep',
);
return $key !== null ? $array[ $key ] : $array;
}
Say i have this PHP code:
$FooBar = "a string";
i then need a function like this:
print_var_name($FooBar);
which prints:
FooBar
Any Ideas how to achieve this? Is this even possible in PHP?
I couldn't think of a way to do this efficiently either but I came up with this. It works, for the limited uses below.
shrug
<?php
function varName( $v ) {
$trace = debug_backtrace();
$vLine = file( __FILE__ );
$fLine = $vLine[ $trace[0]['line'] - 1 ];
preg_match( "#\\$(\w+)#", $fLine, $match );
print_r( $match );
}
$foo = "knight";
$bar = array( 1, 2, 3 );
$baz = 12345;
varName( $foo );
varName( $bar );
varName( $baz );
?>
// Returns
Array
(
[0] => $foo
[1] => foo
)
Array
(
[0] => $bar
[1] => bar
)
Array
(
[0] => $baz
[1] => baz
)
It works based on the line that called the function, where it finds the argument you passed in. I suppose it could be expanded to work with multiple arguments but, like others have said, if you could explain the situation better, another solution would probably work better.
You could use get_defined_vars() to find the name of a variable that has the same value as the one you're trying to find the name of. Obviously this will not always work, since different variables often have the same values, but it's the only way I can think of to do this.
Edit: get_defined_vars() doesn't seem to be working correctly, it returns 'var' because $var is used in the function itself. $GLOBALS seems to work so I've changed it to that.
function print_var_name($var) {
foreach($GLOBALS as $var_name => $value) {
if ($value === $var) {
return $var_name;
}
}
return false;
}
Edit: to be clear, there is no good way to do this in PHP, which is probably because you shouldn't have to do it. There are probably better ways of doing what you're trying to do.
You might consider changing your approach and using a variable variable name?
$var_name = "FooBar";
$$var_name = "a string";
then you could just
print($var_name);
to get
FooBar
Here's the link to the PHP manual on Variable variables
No-one seems to have mentioned the fundamental reasons why this is a) hard and b) unwise:
A "variable" is just a symbol pointing at something else. In PHP, it internally points to something called a "zval", which can actually be used for multiple variables simultaneously, either because they have the same value (PHP implements something called "copy-on-write" so that $foo = $bar doesn't need to allocate extra memory straight away) or because they have been assigned (or passed to a function) by reference (e.g. $foo =& $bar). So a zval has no name.
When you pass a parameter to a function you are creating a new variable (even if it's a reference). You could pass something anonymous, like "hello", but once inside your function, it's whatever variable you name it as. This is fairly fundamental to code separation: if a function relied on what a variable used to be called, it would be more like a goto than a properly separate function.
Global variables are generally considered a bad idea. A lot of the examples here assume that the variable you want to "reflect" can be found in $GLOBALS, but this will only be true if you've structured your code badly and variables aren't scoped to some function or object.
Variable names are there to help programmers read their code. Renaming variables to better suit their purpose is a very common refactoring practice, and the whole point is that it doesn't make any difference.
Now, I understand the desire for this for debugging (although some of the proposed usages go far beyond that), but as a generalised solution it's not actually as helpful as you might think: if your debug function says your variable is called "$file", that could still be any one of dozens of "$file" variables in your code, or a variable which you have called "$filename" but are passing to a function whose parameter is called "$file".
A far more useful piece of information is where in your code the debug function was called from. Since you can quickly find this in your editor, you can see which variable you were outputting for yourself, and can even pass whole expressions into it in one go (e.g. debug('$foo + $bar = ' . ($foo + $bar))).
For that, you can use this snippet at the top of your debug function:
$backtrace = debug_backtrace();
echo '# Debug function called from ' . $backtrace[0]['file'] . ' at line ' . $backtrace[0]['line'];
This is exactly what you want - its a ready to use "copy and drop in" function that echo the name of a given var:
function print_var_name(){
// read backtrace
$bt = debug_backtrace();
// read file
$file = file($bt[0]['file']);
// select exact print_var_name($varname) line
$src = $file[$bt[0]['line']-1];
// search pattern
$pat = '#(.*)'.__FUNCTION__.' *?\( *?(.*) *?\)(.*)#i';
// extract $varname from match no 2
$var = preg_replace($pat, '$2', $src);
// print to browser
echo '<pre>' . trim($var) . ' = ' . print_r(current(func_get_args()), true) . '</pre>';
}
USAGE: print_var_name($FooBar)
PRINT: FooBar
HINT
Now you can rename the function and it will still work and also use the function several times in one line! Thanks to #Cliffordlife
And I add a nicer output! Thanks to #Blue-Water
Lucas on PHP.net provided a reliable way to check if a variable exists. In his example, he iterates through a copy of the global variable array (or a scoped array) of variables, changes the value to a randomly generated value, and checks for the generated value in the copied array.
function variable_name( &$var, $scope=false, $prefix='UNIQUE', $suffix='VARIABLE' ){
if($scope) {
$vals = $scope;
} else {
$vals = $GLOBALS;
}
$old = $var;
$var = $new = $prefix.rand().$suffix;
$vname = FALSE;
foreach($vals as $key => $val) {
if($val === $new) $vname = $key;
}
$var = $old;
return $vname;
}
Then try:
$a = 'asdf';
$b = 'asdf';
$c = FALSE;
$d = FALSE;
echo variable_name($a); // a
echo variable_name($b); // b
echo variable_name($c); // c
echo variable_name($d); // d
Be sure to check his post on PHP.net: http://php.net/manual/en/language.variables.php
I made an inspection function for debugging reasons. It's like print_r() on steroids, much like Krumo but a little more effective on objects. I wanted to add the var name detection and came out with this, inspired by Nick Presta's post on this page. It detects any expression passed as an argument, not only variable names.
This is only the wrapper function that detects the passed expression.
Works on most of the cases.
It will not work if you call the function more than once in the same line of code.
This works fine:
die(inspect($this->getUser()->hasCredential("delete")));
inspect() is the function that will detect the passed expression.
We get: $this->getUser()->hasCredential("delete")
function inspect($label, $value = "__undefin_e_d__")
{
if($value == "__undefin_e_d__") {
/* The first argument is not the label but the
variable to inspect itself, so we need a label.
Let's try to find out it's name by peeking at
the source code.
*/
/* The reason for using an exotic string like
"__undefin_e_d__" instead of NULL here is that
inspected variables can also be NULL and I want
to inspect them anyway.
*/
$value = $label;
$bt = debug_backtrace();
$src = file($bt[0]["file"]);
$line = $src[ $bt[0]['line'] - 1 ];
// let's match the function call and the last closing bracket
preg_match( "#inspect\((.+)\)#", $line, $match );
/* let's count brackets to see how many of them actually belongs
to the var name
Eg: die(inspect($this->getUser()->hasCredential("delete")));
We want: $this->getUser()->hasCredential("delete")
*/
$max = strlen($match[1]);
$varname = "";
$c = 0;
for($i = 0; $i < $max; $i++){
if( $match[1]{$i} == "(" ) $c++;
elseif( $match[1]{$i} == ")" ) $c--;
if($c < 0) break;
$varname .= $match[1]{$i};
}
$label = $varname;
}
// $label now holds the name of the passed variable ($ included)
// Eg: inspect($hello)
// => $label = "$hello"
// or the whole expression evaluated
// Eg: inspect($this->getUser()->hasCredential("delete"))
// => $label = "$this->getUser()->hasCredential(\"delete\")"
// now the actual function call to the inspector method,
// passing the var name as the label:
// return dInspect::dump($label, $val);
// UPDATE: I commented this line because people got confused about
// the dInspect class, wich has nothing to do with the issue here.
echo("The label is: ".$label);
echo("The value is: ".$value);
}
Here's an example of the inspector function (and my dInspect class) in action:
http://inspect.ip1.cc
Texts are in spanish in that page, but code is concise and really easy to understand.
From php.net
#Alexandre - short solution
<?php
function vname(&$var, $scope=0)
{
$old = $var;
if (($key = array_search($var = 'unique'.rand().'value', !$scope ? $GLOBALS : $scope)) && $var = $old) return $key;
}
?>
#Lucas - usage
<?php
//1. Use of a variable contained in the global scope (default):
$my_global_variable = "My global string.";
echo vname($my_global_variable); // Outputs: my_global_variable
//2. Use of a local variable:
function my_local_func()
{
$my_local_variable = "My local string.";
return vname($my_local_variable, get_defined_vars());
}
echo my_local_func(); // Outputs: my_local_variable
//3. Use of an object property:
class myclass
{
public function __constructor()
{
$this->my_object_property = "My object property string.";
}
}
$obj = new myclass;
echo vname($obj->my_object_property, $obj); // Outputs: my_object_property
?>
Many replies question the usefulness of this. However, getting a reference for a variable can be very useful. Especially in cases with objects and $this. My solution works with objects, and as property defined objects as well:
function getReference(&$var)
{
if(is_object($var))
$var->___uniqid = uniqid();
else
$var = serialize($var);
$name = getReference_traverse($var,$GLOBALS);
if(is_object($var))
unset($var->___uniqid);
else
$var = unserialize($var);
return "\${$name}";
}
function getReference_traverse(&$var,$arr)
{
if($name = array_search($var,$arr,true))
return "{$name}";
foreach($arr as $key=>$value)
if(is_object($value))
if($name = getReference_traverse($var,get_object_vars($value)))
return "{$key}->{$name}";
}
Example for the above:
class A
{
public function whatIs()
{
echo getReference($this);
}
}
$B = 12;
$C = 12;
$D = new A;
echo getReference($B)."<br/>"; //$B
echo getReference($C)."<br/>"; //$C
$D->whatIs(); //$D
Adapted from answers above for many variables, with good performance, just one $GLOBALS scan for many
function compact_assoc(&$v1='__undefined__', &$v2='__undefined__',&$v3='__undefined__',&$v4='__undefined__',&$v5='__undefined__',&$v6='__undefined__',&$v7='__undefined__',&$v8='__undefined__',&$v9='__undefined__',&$v10='__undefined__',&$v11='__undefined__',&$v12='__undefined__',&$v13='__undefined__',&$v14='__undefined__',&$v15='__undefined__',&$v16='__undefined__',&$v17='__undefined__',&$v18='__undefined__',&$v19='__undefined__'
) {
$defined_vars=get_defined_vars();
$result=Array();
$reverse_key=Array();
$original_value=Array();
foreach( $defined_vars as $source_key => $source_value){
if($source_value==='__undefined__') break;
$original_value[$source_key]=$$source_key;
$new_test_value="PREFIX".rand()."SUFIX";
$reverse_key[$new_test_value]=$source_key;
$$source_key=$new_test_value;
}
foreach($GLOBALS as $key => &$value){
if( is_string($value) && isset($reverse_key[$value]) ) {
$result[$key]=&$value;
}
}
foreach( $original_value as $source_key => $original_value){
$$source_key=$original_value;
}
return $result;
}
$a = 'A';
$b = 'B';
$c = '999';
$myArray=Array ('id'=>'id123','name'=>'Foo');
print_r(compact_assoc($a,$b,$c,$myArray) );
//print
Array
(
[a] => A
[b] => B
[c] => 999
[myArray] => Array
(
[id] => id123
[name] => Foo
)
)
If the variable is interchangable, you must have logic somewhere that's determining which variable gets used. All you need to do is put the variable name in $variable within that logic while you're doing everything else.
I think we're all having a hard time understanding what you're needing this for. Sample code or an explanation of what you're actually trying to do might help, but I suspect you're way, way overthinking this.
I actually have a valid use case for this.
I have a function cacheVariable($var) (ok, I have a function cache($key, $value), but I'd like to have a function as mentioned).
The purpose is to do:
$colour = 'blue';
cacheVariable($colour);
...
// another session
...
$myColour = getCachedVariable('colour');
I have tried with
function cacheVariable($variable) {
$key = ${$variable}; // This doesn't help! It only gives 'variable'.
// do some caching using suitable backend such as apc, memcache or ramdisk
}
I have also tried with
function varName(&$var) {
$definedVariables = get_defined_vars();
$copyOfDefinedVariables = array();
foreach ($definedVariables as $variable=>$value) {
$copyOfDefinedVariables[$variable] = $value;
}
$oldVar = $var;
$var = !$var;
$difference = array_diff_assoc($definedVariables, $copyOfDefinedVariables);
$var = $oldVar;
return key(array_slice($difference, 0, 1, true));
}
But this fails as well... :(
Sure, I could continue to do cache('colour', $colour), but I'm lazy, you know... ;)
So, what I want is a function that gets the ORIGINAL name of a variable, as it was passed to a function. Inside the function there is no way I'm able to know that, as it seems. Passing get_defined_vars() by reference in the second example above helped me (Thanks to Jean-Jacques Guegan for that idea) somewhat. The latter function started working, but it still only kept returning the local variable ('variable', not 'colour').
I haven't tried yet to use get_func_args() and get_func_arg(), ${}-constructs and key() combined, but I presume it will fail as well.
I have this:
debug_echo(array('$query'=>$query, '$nrUsers'=>$nrUsers, '$hdr'=>$hdr));
I would prefer this:
debug_echo($query, $nrUsers, $hdr);
The existing function displays a yellow box with a red outline and shows each variable by name and value. The array solution works but is a little convoluted to type when it is needed.
That's my use case and yes, it does have to do with debugging. I agree with those who question its use otherwise.
Here's my solution based on Jeremy Ruten
class DebugHelper {
function printVarNames($systemDefinedVars, $varNames) {
foreach ($systemDefinedVars as $var=>$value) {
if (in_array($var, $varNames )) {
var_dump($var);
var_dump($value);
}
}
}
}
using it
DebugHelper::printVarNames(
$systemDefinedVars = get_defined_vars(),
$varNames=array('yourVar00', 'yourVar01')
);
You could use compact() to achieve this.
$FooBar = "a string";
$newArray = compact('FooBar');
This would create an associative array with the variable name as the key. You could then loop through the array using the key name where you needed it.
foreach($newarray as $key => $value) {
echo $key;
}
I think you want to know variable name with it's value. You can use an associative array to achieve this.
use variable names for array keys:
$vars = array('FooBar' => 'a string');
When you want to get variable names, use array_keys($vars), it will return an array of those variable names that used in your $vars array as it's keys.
This is the way I did it
function getVar(&$var) {
$tmp = $var; // store the variable value
$var = '_$_%&33xc$%^*7_r4'; // give the variable a new unique value
$name = array_search($var, $GLOBALS); // search $GLOBALS for that unique value and return the key(variable)
$var = $tmp; // restore the variable old value
return $name;
}
Usage
$city = "San Francisco";
echo getVar($city); // city
Note: some PHP 7 versions will not work properly due to a bug in array_search with $GLOBALS, however all other versions will work.
See this https://3v4l.org/UMW7V
There is no predefined function in PHP that can output the name of a variable. However, you can use the result of get_defined_vars(), which returns all the variables defined in the scope, including name and value. Here is an example:
<?php
// Function for determining the name of a variable
function getVarName(&$var, $definedVars=null) {
$definedVars = (!is_array($definedVars) ? $GLOBALS : $definedVars);
$val = $var;
$rand = 1;
while (in_array($rand, $definedVars, true)) {
$rand = md5(mt_rand(10000, 1000000));
}
$var = $rand;
foreach ($definedVars as $dvName=>$dvVal) {
if ($dvVal === $rand) {
$var = $val;
return $dvName;
}
}
return null;
}
// the name of $a is to be determined.
$a = 1;
// Determine the name of $a
echo getVarName($a);
?>
Read more in How to get a variable name as a string in PHP?
Why don't you just build a simple function and TELL it?
/**
* Prints out $obj for debug
*
* #param any_type $obj
* #param (string) $title
*/
function print_all( $obj, $title = false )
{
print "\n<div style=\"font-family:Arial;\">\n";
if( $title ) print "<div style=\"background-color:red; color:white; font-size:16px; font-weight:bold; margin:0; padding:10px; text-align:center;\">$title</div>\n";
print "<pre style=\"background-color:yellow; border:2px solid red; color:black; margin:0; padding:10px;\">\n\n";
var_export( $obj );
print "\n\n</pre>\n</div>\n";
}
print_all( $aUser, '$aUser' );
I was looking for this but just decided to pass the name in, I usually have the name in the clipboard anyway.
function VarTest($my_var,$my_var_name){
echo '$'.$my_var_name.': '.$my_var.'<br />';
}
$fruit='apple';
VarTest($fruit,'fruit');
I know this is old and already answered but I was actually looking for this. I am posting this answer to save people a little time refining some of the answers.
Option 1:
$data = array('$FooBar');
$vars = [];
$vars = preg_replace('/^\\$/', '', $data);
$varname = key(compact($vars));
echo $varname;
Prints:
FooBar
For whatever reason you would find yourself in a situation like this, it does actually work.
.
Option 2:
$FooBar = "a string";
$varname = trim(array_search($FooBar, $GLOBALS), " \t.");
echo $varname;
If $FooBar holds a unique value, it will print 'FooBar'. If $FooBar is empty or null it will print the name of the first empty or null string it finds.
It could be used as such:
if (isset($FooBar) && !is_null($FooBar) && !empty($FooBar)) {
$FooBar = "a string";
$varname = trim(array_search($FooBar, $GLOBALS), " \t.");
}
other use:
shrug
function varsToArrayAssoc(...$arguments){
$bt = debug_backtrace();
$file = file($bt[0]['file']);
$src = $file[$bt[0]['line']-1];
$pat = '#(.*)'.__FUNCTION__.' *?\( *?(.*) *?\)(.*)#i';
$vars =explode(',',substr_replace(trim(preg_replace($pat, '$2', $src)) ,"", -1));
$result=[];
foreach(func_get_args() as $key=>$v){
$index=trim(explode('$',$vars[$key])[1]);
$result[$index]=$v;
}
return $result;
}
$a=12;
$b=13;
$c=123;
$d='aa';
var_dump(varsToArrayAssoc($a,$b,$c,$d));
Use this to detach user variables from global to check variable at the moment.
function get_user_var_defined ()
{
return array_slice($GLOBALS,8,count($GLOBALS)-8);
}
function get_var_name ($var)
{
$vuser = get_user_var_defined();
foreach($vuser as $key=>$value)
{
if($var===$value) return $key ;
}
}
It may be considered quick and dirty, but my own personal preference is to use a function/method like this:
public function getVarName($var) {
$tmp = array($var => '');
$keys = array_keys($tmp);
return trim($keys[0]);
}
basically it just creates an associative array containing one null/empty element, using as a key the variable for which you want the name.
we then get the value of that key using array_keys and return it.
obviously this gets messy quick and wouldn't be desirable in a production environment, but it works for the problem presented.
why we have to use globals to get variable name... we can use simply like below.
$variableName = "ajaxmint";
echo getVarName('$variableName');
function getVarName($name) {
return str_replace('$','',$name);
}
I really fail to see the use case... If you will type print_var_name($foobar) what's so hard (and different) about typing print("foobar") instead?
Because even if you were to use this in a function, you'd get the local name of the variable...
In any case, here's the reflection manual in case there's something you need in there.