[RESOLVED] "stupid question" of the day - re: php.net

ATS16805

can someone please tell me where to look on php.net to gain a better unerstanding of how to read their function descriptions?

for example

bool isset ( mixed var [, mixed var [, ...]] )

when the definition is laid out like so, what is the proper way of reading this?

this is how i would read the above:
{ use some boolean here } then the function isset with the arguments (which can and should be a {mixed variable} [, another {mixed variable} [, something else here]])

i'm not sure if my confusion is sufficiently illustrated there, but maybe you can get the idea of why it seems kinda of like a foreign language to me. (first of all, i'm not sure even what is a "mixed variable")

is there some "key" to go by?
if YOU didn't know how to read this, what would be your steps to understanding what is written here?

thorpe

the first part tells you what the function returns,

bool

then the function name

isset

then it tells you that the first argument is required and can be of mixed type. eg array, string, object whatever.

anything in [] brackets are optional arguments.

more here... about prototypes.

ATS16805

Thorpe, thank you!

that really helps a lot, and of course the "prototype" info at PHP.NET .

i'm curious-- should i have known that was on php.net-- i mean, are there some huge road signs pointing "this way to learn how to read..." that i obviously missed, or even something here at PHPBuilder.com, or is it not uncommon for others to be as lost as i when i comes to:

How to read a function definition (prototype)

thorpe

you can pretty much quarentee that all questions are answered in the manual, and it is layed out almost exactly like a book. simply put question of that nature, i would expect to find in an appendix, and strangely enough, the manual has just that.

another cool trick with the manual. just fyi, is, if you know the name of the function you want to look up, you can add it to the end of the url and yu will automatically be directed straight to it.

eg.

http://php.net/isset

will take you straght to the isset functions page. very handy.

ATS16805

awesome. although i have noticed that, i never tried it. 😉

good stuff though.

(even if i had a book in my hand, i probably wouldn't have thought to look in an "appendix" the "prototype key"... but, would probably have found it by way of flipping through the pages!)

EDIT:
i agree w/ you about all questions can be answered by reading the manual-- however, i also believe that the manual, in some sense, is geared toward a certain type of reader-- one who has either some programming knowledge, or is familiar w/ this type of technical material. for example, i have a degree in Communications Curriculum and Instruction-- not too often was i ever forced to study from a book of this nature. most of everything i've learned in regard to PHP, or web development in general has been quite unlike any of my formal education experience-- not that it's a bad thing, but often seems a bit confusing, but i'm getting used to it.

batman

all you gotta do is go to php.net and search the functions lists and it gives a ton of representations on how to use it and what each thing is for....

ATS16805

batman wrote:
all you gotta do is go to php.net and search the functions lists

hehe. yes, that does indeed help when looking for a function definition-- and i'm glad i've gotten in the habit of donig that.

but, when trying to learn how to properly read the manual, i'm not sure that searching the functions will do much good. 😉

the link the thorpe provided is precisely what i was looking for. what was at issue here was my inability to find that info-- but thanks nonetheless!