A Logical Mistake on OOP - php

Question

I'm learning Yii Framework . I'm working with a framework first time, i need some advices.
I have a getSocials() function on my Controller .
private function getSocials($id)
{
$socials=Socials::model()->find("socials_user=$id");
foreach ($socials as $social)
{
$type = $social["socials_type"];
$allSocial .= "<li>$type</li>";
}
return $allSocial;
}
(it's private because i'm calling it from another function only).
I'll explain it line by line,
$socials=Socials::model()->find("socials_user=$id");
Getting datas from database which socials_user collumn equals to $id, via Socials model.
foreach ($socials as $social)
$socials returning as an array because there are a few lines which socials_user collumn equals to $id on database .
$allSocial .= "<li>$type</li>";
On foreach loop, adding <li>...</li> to end of string, so $allSocial will be <li>...</li><li>...</li>...
BUt i'm getting Undefined variable: allSocial error . When i remove dot from front of equal symbol (=), it's working. But this time on foreach loop, it's overwriting always and finally $allSocial containing only last <li>...</li>
Are there any logical mistake ?

Answer 1

$allSocial is not defined anywhere, you cant attach a string to an undefined variable. Try it like this:
private function getSocials($id)
{
$socials=Socials::model()->find("socials_user=$id");
$allSocial = '';
foreach ($socials as $social)
{
$type = $social["socials_type"];
$allSocial .= "<li>$type</li>";
}
return $allSocial;
}

Answer 2

You need to define $allSocial before you try to concatenate anything to it. You may also want to consider returning an array instead so you can easily access the different strings.
private function getSocials($id) {
$socials=Socials::model()->find("socials_user=$id");
$allSocial = array();
foreach ($socials as $social)
{
$type = $social["socials_type"];
$str = "<li>$type</li>";
array_push($allSocial, $str);
}
return $allSocial;
}

Answer 3

find function will return only one record which is not an array so foreach will never execute
replace the code with following to get it working right :
private function getSocials($id)
{
$socials=Socials::model()->findAll('socials_user=:socials_user',
array(':socials_user'=>1));
$allSocial = '';
foreach ($socials as $social)
{
$type = $social["socials_type"];
$allSocial .= "<li>$type</li>";
}
return $allSocial;
}