initialized variable which value I can't get after require

[Matth_S]

Hi,

There is little meaning in the message title but it's rather difficult to describe this problem only in a sentence.

I have a php file ("myfile.php") in which a variable $toto is initialized.

This file is required in another file.

If I check $toto with an echo , I get its value, but it depends from where $toto was previously initialized in the file "myfile.php".

In this file, the code is such as described below :

if{

}
else{

}

If $toto is initialized before the if{}, or in the else{} ; I can get its value after the require of the file. If it's initialized in the if{} ; I can't get it.

If or else depends from the login/pass of the user that is connecting to the site. I've already checked if the condition works with an echo in both the if{} and the else{}.
So $toto is initialized in the if{} but impossible to get it's value.

I really don't understand 😕

Do you have an idea ?

Thanks

[paulnaj]

I think we're gonna need to see some code .... try paring it down to the essentials for this issue ...

Having said that ... are you saying you have something like this in the 'required' file ...

if(/statement about user == true /){
$toto = 'some value';
} else{
$toto = 'other value';
}

... and if you put ...

echo $toto;

... it never echoes 'some value' to the browser.

Paul

EDIT: Pressed the submit button accidentally.

[Matth_S]

Yes it's something like that.

in the required file I have (for example)

if(/statement about user == true /){
$toto = "tata";
}
else{
$toto = "toto";
}

Then in the main file, with the echo, I can only get the value of $toto if it has been initialized in the else{} or before the if{}.

I even tried :

$toto="toto";

if(/statement about user == true /){
$toto="tata";
}
else{
$toto="toto";
}
echo $toto;

I get "tata" when the statement about user is true

In the main file, after required, I get "toto" ; as if the variable $toto in the if{} is considered as a local variable of the required file.

I have the same problem using a switch{} in a required file. Each variable initialized in the switch{} is considered as unset in the main file. In this case I have no exception ; but I have to use those variables in the main file.

Any ideas are welcome cause I'm stuck !

[paulnaj]

Hi Matt,

As I said, I think we're going to need to see some of your code otherwise we can only reply in abstract terms.

But, the first thing I'd do is check to see if the statement about the user can ever actually be true.

What is the question you are asking in the if condition?

Paul.

[Matth_S]

Ok, I'll try to explain the problem with as much information as possible.

first the user enters his login/password in a form. So 2 variables are initialized
$login , $password.

in the required file I check in which table of the database are stored $login and $password.

So I have :

$password=$POST['password'];
$login=$POST['login'];

$result=mysql_query("select count(id) as total form table1 where login='".$login."' and password='".$password."'");
$row=mysql_fetch_array($result);
$num=$row['total'];

if($num==0){
/ Another query to check in another table /

}
else{

}

In both cases, different variables are initialized with another mysql_query to get informations about the user (such as firstname, lastname, etc).

As I saw that I couldn't get the values of those variables (initiliazed in the if{} ) in the main file, I tried to set a simple $toto variable, and check if I can get its value in the main file. But the result was the same.

I have already checked with an echo if the statement can be true (so if $num==0 ; which means that the $login and $password are not in the table1). So I'm sure the statement can be true, and though the variable $toto is initialized during the if{} , it's considered as unset in the main file.

[paulnaj]

Hi Matt,

It should work as you expect. There is a (very) remote possibility that it's some kind of bug, but I doubt it ... it's probably something in your code, I'm afraid.

Have you got warnings and notices (as well as errors, of course) turned on? They can be really, really useful in identifying logic flaws.

Also, are you showing us the actual code? I wondered, because there's a typo in the SQL (form instead of from), which would definitely cause an error.

If it's not the actual code then you might be doing what follows anyway but, just in case, make your code much stricter. Check the $POST variables, check the sql, check everything ...

<?php
if(!isset($_POST['login']) || !isset($_POST['password'])){
	die('$_POST[\'login\'] or $_POST[\'password\'] not set.');
}
$login = $_POST['login'];
$password = $_POST['password'];

// It's a bore, but check everything.
echo '<p><pre>$login: '.$login.', $password:'.$password.'</pre></p>';

$sql = "
SELECT COUNT(id) as total 
FROM table1
WHERE login='".$login."'
AND password='".$password."'
";
echo '<p><pre>'.$sql.'</pre></p>';

// mysql_query() might only produce a warning, not
// necessarily an error ... could be important
if(!$result = mysql_query($sql)){ 
	die('Problem with $sql.');
)

// I'm probably over-doing it here, but not if the 
// SQL has more than one table
if(mysql_num_rows($result) != 1){
	die('Too many returns.');
}

// Shouldn't be a problem, but check anyway
if(!$row = mysql_fetch_array($result)){
	die('Problem fetching array.');
}
$num = $row['total']; 
echo '<p><pre>$num = '.$num.'</pre></p>';

// Has $toto already defined ... just checking
if(isset($toto)){
	die('<p><pre>Before: $toto = '.$toto.'</pre></p>');
}

if($num == 0){ 
	$toto = "tata"; 
} else { 
	$toto = "toto"; 
}
if(!isset($toto)){
	die('$toto not set.');
}

echo '<p><pre>After: $toto = '.$toto.'</pre></p>';

?>

Paul 🙂

[Matth_S]

Thanks for your answer. I'll try to use your code today ; then I'll tell you if the problem still occurs.

I showed you the actual code (I juste change the name of the table ; but rather than a copy/paste of the code , I wrote it again, so I did a mistake with "from" while writing my query).

I think that unfortunately warnings and notices are turned off on the server. But as I can't change this setting on the server, I could try on local server.

[tsinka]

Hi,

you can change the error reporting level by adding e.g.

error_reporting(E_ALL);

(on top) of the script(s).

Thomas