[RESOLVED] Populate array outside of function

[sleepydad]

I have created an array that I will use further down the page when it is populated using a function. Currently my code is:

$nearbyevents=array();
function getnearby() {
include("includes/db.php");
$query="SELECT * from `events` order by `id` asc";
$result=$db->query($query);
for ($i=0;$i<$result->num_rows;$i++){
$row=$result->fetch_assoc();
$nearbyevents[]=array('title'=>$row['event_title'],'date'=>$row['event_date'],'city'=>$row['event_city'],'details'=>$row['event_details'],'url'=>$row['event_url']);
}
}
getnearby();

When I print_r($nearbyevents) after calling the function, I get "Array()".

What am I doing wrong, and how do I fix?

Thanks very much.

[sneakyimp]

The $nearbyevents array you define at the top and the one you reference inside your function are different variables with the same name.

If you want your function to refer to a variable you have defined in the global scope, you can declare it as global, which is generally discouraged:

function getnearby() {
  global $nearbyevents; 

  include("includes/db.php");
  $query="SELECT * from `events` order by `id` asc";
  $result=$db->query($query);
  for ($i=0;$i<$result->num_rows;$i++){
    $row=$result->fetch_assoc();
    $nearbyevents[]=array('title'=>$row['event_title'],'date'=>$row['event_date'],'city'=>$row['event_city'],'details'=>$row['event_details'],'url'=>$row['event_url']);
  }
}

You could also pass the parameter by reference into the function:

$global_nearbyevents=array(); // i changed this var's name to distinguish it from the other var
function getnearby(&$nearbyevents) { // NOTE the ampersand!!!
  include("includes/db.php");
  $query="SELECT * from `events` order by `id` asc";
  $result=$db->query($query);
  for ($i=0;$i<$result->num_rows;$i++){
    $row=$result->fetch_assoc();
    $nearbyevents[]=array('title'=>$row['event_title'],'date'=>$row['event_date'],'city'=>$row['event_city'],'details'=>$row['event_details'],'url'=>$row['event_url']);
  }
}
getnearby($global_nearbyevents);

You could also design your function to return an array:

function getnearby() { // NOTE the ampersand!!!
  $nearbyevents = array();
  include("includes/db.php");
  $query="SELECT * from `events` order by `id` asc";
  $result=$db->query($query);
  for ($i=0;$i<$result->num_rows;$i++){
    $row=$result->fetch_assoc();
    $nearbyevents[]=array('title'=>$row['event_title'],'date'=>$row['event_date'],'city'=>$row['event_city'],'details'=>$row['event_details'],'url'=>$row['event_url']);
  }

  return $nearbyevents;
}
$global_nearbyevents = getnearby();

[sleepydad]

sneakyimp;11055347 wrote:

The $nearbyevents array you define at the top and the one you reference inside your function are different variables with the same name.

If you want your function to refer to a variable you have defined in the global scope, you can declare it as global, which is generally discouraged:

function getnearby() {
  global $nearbyevents; 

  include("includes/db.php");
  $query="SELECT * from `events` order by `id` asc";
  $result=$db->query($query);
  for ($i=0;$i<$result->num_rows;$i++){
    $row=$result->fetch_assoc();
    $nearbyevents[]=array('title'=>$row['event_title'],'date'=>$row['event_date'],'city'=>$row['event_city'],'details'=>$row['event_details'],'url'=>$row['event_url']);
  }
}

You could also pass the parameter by reference into the function:

$global_nearbyevents=array(); // i changed this var's name to distinguish it from the other var
function getnearby(&$nearbyevents) { // NOTE the ampersand!!!
  include("includes/db.php");
  $query="SELECT * from `events` order by `id` asc";
  $result=$db->query($query);
  for ($i=0;$i<$result->num_rows;$i++){
    $row=$result->fetch_assoc();
    $nearbyevents[]=array('title'=>$row['event_title'],'date'=>$row['event_date'],'city'=>$row['event_city'],'details'=>$row['event_details'],'url'=>$row['event_url']);
  }
}
getnearby($global_nearbyevents);

You could also design your function to return an array:

function getnearby() { // NOTE the ampersand!!!
  $nearbyevents = array();
  include("includes/db.php");
  $query="SELECT * from `events` order by `id` asc";
  $result=$db->query($query);
  for ($i=0;$i<$result->num_rows;$i++){
    $row=$result->fetch_assoc();
    $nearbyevents[]=array('title'=>$row['event_title'],'date'=>$row['event_date'],'city'=>$row['event_city'],'details'=>$row['event_details'],'url'=>$row['event_url']);
  }

  return $nearbyevents;
}
$global_nearbyevents = getnearby();

Super helpful. Thanks so much for the suggestions. I'll give them a try right now.