general style question...

[ugasucks]

i've noticed that $POST[variable] is the same as $POST['variable'];

is this just something that comes from configuration, or is it standard for PHPs associative variables? OR, is it just a stylistic thing?

thanks,
ugasucks

[IceD]

Never don't use $_POST[variable]! It's very bad! Just turn on warnings/errors displaying in the php.ini and you will see why.

[ahundiak]

The manual specifically warns against using $_POST[variable]. Always use quotes.

Here is what can happen
define('variable','something');
$_POST[variable] will now access the entry called 'something'.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of code which does not use quotes so it's easy to get confused. It works without quotes as long as there are no defines but it's dangerous.

[suntra]

You should only use $_POST without quotes if you print something...

echo "Your name is : $_POST[name]";

But, personnally, what I do is this :

echo "Your name is : " . $_POST["name"];

[ugasucks]

thanks everyone!!! it's good to get a nice solid "HELL NO" from everyone as a response. i just realized this morning that it was unsafe to have register globals on, so i changed that (and all my variables to $_POST[variable]). now that i know that that is a stupid thing to do, i'm going back to change 'em.

there should be a large disclaimer on PHP that says not to do this... or i guess PHP should be called "PHP-RTFM".

plonk(myself);

[IceD]

NO. You SHOULD keep register_globals to off!!!! Just use $_POST["variable"]!!!!

[ugasucks]

even more picky question-- should it be $POST['variable'] or $POST["variable"] or does it matter?

thanks for ignoring my ignorance.

[ahundiak]

In general, use 'variable'. When you use "variable", the php processor does a bit more work since it tries to replace things like $var with their value.

In the real world, you would probably never notice the performance difference. But it's an easy rule to follow and every little bit can help.