[RESOLVED] Easy syntax question - please help!

robmarston

I'm trying to echo a message if a variable doesn't equal one of three other variables...

Something like this...

$myVar = 'apples';

$var1 = 'oranges';
$var2 = 'bananas';
$var3 = 'grapes';

if($myVar != $var1 || $myVar != $var2 | $myVar != $var3) {
echo "NO MATCH";
}

What's wrong with my syntax?

m_tt

if($myVar != $var1 || $myVar != $var2 || $myVar != $var3)

Also if you want to experiment with an alternative method:

$vars = array( 'oranges', 'bananas', 'grapes' );

if ( !in_array( $myVar, $vars ) )
{
	echo "NO MATCH";
}

robmarston

Sorry, my code sample on the original post was incorrect.

I WAS actually using this, just as you had it:

if($myVar != $var1 || $myVar != $var2 || $myVar != $var3)

Problem was, it still wouldn't work. I read something about it not correct evaluating the second and third statements because both the || and the != are comparison operators.

Regardless, your second solution worked perfectly - and slimmed-up my code a bit!

Thanks so much for your help!

Weedpacket

robmarston wrote:
I read something about it not correct evaluating the second and third statements because both the || and the != are comparison operators.

Don't know where you read that, but it's rubbish.

Your problem is that you used || when you should have used &&. Look what happens when you replace your variables with literal strings and try to look for "oranges".

if("oranges" != "oranges" || "oranges" != "bananas" || "oranges" != "grapes") { echo "NO MATCH"; }
if(false || true || true) { echo "NO MATCH"; }
if(true) { echo "NO MATCH"; }
echo "NO MATCH";

"oranges"!="bananas" so the test succeeds, and "NO MATCH" is echoed. Now compare

if("oranges" != "oranges" && "oranges" != "bananas" && "oranges" != "grapes") { echo "NO MATCH"; }
if(false && true && true) { echo "NO MATCH"; }
if(false) { echo "NO MATCH"; }