NYCPHP Meetup

[Brian Pang]

right, isn't !$$foo checking to see if whether the var is defined or
not? or if it's been explicitly set to untrue, as in $foo = false

in this case, it works out that it has been set, to 0 (zero), which is
not "empty" nor is it "false"


> I'd like to make a small note regarding this topic. I think it's much more
> readable (and correct) to use the empty() function, especially if that
is what
> you are wanting to check.
> 
> Consider this:
> 
> <?
> $foo = 'bar';
> $bar = 0;
> 
> if (!$$foo)
> {
>      echo '<p>$bar is empty</p>';
> }
> ?>
> 
> That echo statement isn't exactly telling the whole truth, is it? $bar
isn't
> empty; it is the integer 0. Conditional statements are evaluated as
boolean,
> and 0 evaluates to false.
> 
> Consider this as an alternative:
> 
> <?
> $foo = 'bar';
> $bar = 0;
> 
> if (empty($$foo))
> {
>      echo '<p>$bar is empty</p>';
> }
> ?>
> 
> To me, it is much easier to read, and it might be more valid, depending on
> whether you are really wanting to test whether something is empty and not
> whether it is false.
> 
> Hope that helps.
> 
> Chris
> 
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