global variable problem

[kevinkhan]

I have a script that includes these lines

include($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'globalFunctions.php');
include('connect.php');

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getPostingDetails($page, $ch);

blue("fb_dtsg = ".$fb_dtsg);
exit;

This is the function i have in the globalFunctions.php which is ../../ folders back

function getPostingDetails($page, $ch) {



	preg_match('|fb_dtsg:"[a-zA-Z0-9_-]*"|', $page, $match);

	if($match && $match[0]) {
		$fb_dtsg = str_replace("fb_dtsg:", "", $match[0]);
		$fb_dtsg = trim($fb_dtsg, "\"");
		blue("Post Parameter[fb_dtsg]:".$fb_dtsg."<br />");
		}	else {
		red("cant find fb_dtsg");
	}

	global $fb_dtsg;
}

how come when i run the script it doesnt out put the $fb_dtsg??

blue("fb_dtsg = ".$fb_dtsg);

when i put this line in the code

getPostingDetails($page, $ch);

it does echo out

Post Parameter[fb_dtsg]:AQCYXOEa

[NogDog]

You need to declare the variable as global before you do anything with it inside the function.

Of course, the better solution is to not use global variables, and instead make it a pass-by-reference function parameter or simply return() that value so that you can assign it to the desired variable. Either way will help you avoid the several pitfalls that can come with global variables.