check for and use a var at the same time

Desdinova

I thought I had seen something like this before.. It would be a shorthand version of this:

$var_b = ($var_a ? $var_a : null);

I was hoping to be able to cut this short as something like this, but don't know the right syntax (if there even is any..):

$var_b = ($var_a : null);

Anyone who knows?

Pikachu2000

The syntax you're trying to use is called ternary syntax.

$var_b = isset($var_a) ? $var_a : '';

// SAME AS . . .

if( isset($var_a) {
     $var_b = $var_a;
} else {
     $var_b = ''; // <--- sets var_b to an empty string.
}

Desdinova

hey, thanks for the reply.

I pretty much got that so far, what I'm trying to get rid of, is having to type $var_a twice.

bradgrafelman

I don't think there's any shorter way of doing that.

EDIT: Woops, I wasn't thinking clearly about what you were trying to do. There is indeed a shorthand version of the ternary operator, e.g.:

$var_b = ($var_a ?: null);

See this part in the PHP manual:

PHP Manual wrote:
ince PHP 5.3, it is possible to leave out the middle part of the ternary operator. Expression expr1 ?: expr3 returns expr1 if expr1 evaluates to TRUE, and expr3 otherwise.

Desdinova

bradgrafelman;10973916 wrote:
I don't think there's any shorter way of doing that.

EDIT: Woops, I wasn't thinking clearly about what you were trying to do. There is indeed a shorthand version of the ternary operator, e.g.:
$var_b = ($var_a ?: null);
See this part in the PHP manual:

YES! thank you I love you.