variables.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- $Revision$ -->
 <chapter xml:id="language.variables" xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">
  <title>Variables</title>
  
  <sect1 xml:id="language.variables.basics">
   <title>Basics</title>

   <simpara>
    Variables in PHP are represented by a dollar sign followed by the
    name of the variable. The variable name is case-sensitive.
   </simpara>

   <para>
    A valid variable name starts with a letter
    (<literal>A-Z</literal>, <literal>a-z</literal>, or the bytes from 128 through 255)
    or underscore, followed
    by any number of letters, numbers, or underscores. As a regular
    expression, it would be expressed thus:
    <code>^[a-zA-Z_\x80-\xff][a-zA-Z0-9_\x80-\xff]*$</code>
   </para>

   <note>
    <simpara>
     PHP doesn't support Unicode variable names, however, some character
     encodings (such as UTF-8) encode characters in such a way that all bytes
     of a multi-byte character fall within the allowed range, thus making it a
     valid variable name.
    </simpara>
   </note>

   <note>
    <simpara>
     <literal>$this</literal> is a special variable that can't be
     assigned.
     Prior to PHP 7.1.0, indirect assignment (e.g. by using
     <link linkend="language.variables.variable">variable variables</link>)
     was possible.
    </simpara>
   </note>

   &tip.userlandnaming;

   <example>
    <title>Valid variable names</title>
    <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$var = 'Bob';
$Var = 'Joe';
echo "$var, $Var";      // outputs "Bob, Joe"

$_4site = 'not yet';    // valid; starts with an underscore
$täyte = 'mansikka';    // valid; 'ä' is (Extended) ASCII 228.
?>
]]>
    </programlisting>
   </example>

   <example>
    <title>Invalid variable names</title>
    <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$4site = 'not yet';     // invalid; starts with a number
]]>
    </programlisting>
   </example>

   <simpara>
    PHP accepts a sequence of any bytes as a variable name. Variable
    names that do not follow the above-mentioned naming rules can only be
    accessed dynamically at runtime. See
    <link linkend="language.variables.variable">variable variables</link>
    for information on how to access them.
   </simpara>

   <example>
    <title>Accessing obscure variable names</title>
    <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
${'invalid-name'} = 'bar';
$name = 'invalid-name';
echo ${'invalid-name'}, " ", $$name;
?>
]]>
    </programlisting>
    &example.outputs;
    <screen>
<![CDATA[
bar bar
]]>
    </screen>
   </example>

   <para>
    By default, variables are always assigned by value. That is to say,
    when an expression is assigned to a variable, the entire value of
    the original expression is copied into the destination
    variable. This means, for instance, that after assigning one
    variable's value to another, changing one of those variables will
    have no effect on the other. For more information on this kind of
    assignment, see the chapter on <link
    linkend="language.expressions">Expressions</link>.
   </para>
   <para>
    PHP also offers another way to assign values to variables:
    <link linkend="language.references">assign by reference</link>. 
    This means that the new variable simply references (in other words, 
    "becomes an alias for" or "points to") the original variable. 
    Changes to the new variable affect the original, and vice versa. 
   </para>
   <para>
    To assign by reference, simply prepend an ampersand (&amp;) to the
    beginning of the variable which is being assigned (the source
    variable). For instance, the following code snippet outputs '<literal>My
    name is Bob</literal>' twice:

    <informalexample>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$foo = 'Bob';              // Assign the value 'Bob' to $foo
$bar = &$foo;              // Reference $foo via $bar.
$bar = "My name is $bar";  // Alter $bar...
echo $bar;
echo $foo;                 // $foo is altered too.
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </informalexample>
   </para>

   <para>
    One important thing to note is that only variables may be
    assigned by reference.
    <informalexample>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$foo = 25;
$bar = &$foo;      // This is a valid assignment.
$bar = &(24 * 7);  // Invalid; references an unnamed expression.

function test()
{
   return 25;
}

$bar = &test();    // Invalid because test() doesn't return a variable by reference.
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </informalexample>
   </para>
   
   <para>
    It is not necessary to declare variables in PHP, however, it is a very
    good practice. Accessing an undefined variable will result in an
    <constant>E_WARNING</constant> (prior to PHP 8.0.0, <constant>E_NOTICE</constant>).
    An undefined variable has a default value of &null;.
    The <function>isset</function> language
    construct can be used to detect if a variable has already been initialized.
   </para>
   <para>
    <example>
     <title>Default value of an uninitialized variable</title>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
// Unset AND unreferenced (no use context) variable.
var_dump($unset_var);
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
     &example.outputs;
     <screen>
<![CDATA[
Warning: Undefined variable $unset_var in ...
NULL
]]>
     </screen>
    </example>
   </para>

   <simpara>
    PHP allows array autovivification (automatic creation of new arrays)
    from an undefined variable.
    Appending an element to an undefined variable will create a new array and
    will not generate a warning.
   </simpara>
   <example>
    <title>Autovivification of an array from an undefined variable</title>
    <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$unset_array[] = 'value'; // Does not generate a warning.
?>
]]>
    </programlisting>
   </example>

   <warning>
    <simpara>
     Relying on the default value of an uninitialized variable is problematic
     when including one file in another which uses the same
     variable name.
    </simpara>
   </warning>

   <simpara>
    A variable can be destroyed by using the <function>unset</function>
    language construct.
   </simpara>

   <simpara>
    For information on variable-related functions, see the
    <link linkend="ref.var">Variable Functions Reference</link>.
   </simpara>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 xml:id="language.variables.predefined">
   <title>Predefined Variables</title>
   
   <para>
    PHP provides a number of
    <link linkend="reserved.variables">predefined variables</link>.
    PHP also provides an additional set of predefined arrays
    containing variables from the web server (if applicable), the
    environment, and user input. These arrays are automatically available in
    every scope. For this reason, they are often known as
    "superglobals". (There is no mechanism in PHP for
    user-defined superglobals.) Refer to the
    <link linkend="language.variables.superglobals">list of superglobals</link>
    for details.
   </para>

   <note>
    <title>Variable variables</title>
    <para>
     Superglobals cannot be used as 
     <link linkend="language.variables.variable">variable variables</link>
     inside functions or class methods.
    </para>
   </note>

   <para>
    If certain variables in <link
    linkend="ini.variables-order">variables_order</link> are not set, their
    appropriate PHP predefined arrays are also left empty.
   </para>
  </sect1>


  <sect1 xml:id="language.variables.scope">
   <title>Variable scope</title>

   <simpara>
    The scope of a variable is the context within which it is defined.
    PHP has a function scope and a global scope.
    Any variable defined outside a function is limited to the global scope.
    When a file is included, the code it contains inherits the variable scope
    of the line on which the include occurs.
   </simpara>
   <example>
    <title>Example of global variable scope</title>
    <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$a = 1;
include 'b.inc'; // Variable $a will be available within b.inc
?>
]]>
    </programlisting>
   </example>

   <simpara>
    Any variable created inside a named function or an
    <link linkend="functions.anonymous">anonymous</link> function
    is limited to the scope of the function body.
    However, <link linkend="functions.arrow">arrow functions</link>
    bind variables from the parent scope to make them available inside the body.
    If a file include occurs inside a function within
    the calling file, the variables contained in the called file will be
    available as if they had been defined inside the calling function.
   </simpara>
    
   <example>
    <title>Example of local variable scope</title>
    <programlisting role="php"> 
<![CDATA[
<?php
$a = 1; // global scope

function test()
{ 
    echo $a; // Variable $a is undefined as it refers to a local version of $a
}
?>
]]>
    </programlisting>
   </example>

   <simpara>
    The example above will generate an undefined variable <constant>E_WARNING</constant>
    (or an <constant>E_NOTICE</constant> prior to PHP 8.0.0).
    This is because the echo statement
    refers to a local version of the <varname>$a</varname> variable,
    and it has not been assigned a value within this scope.
    Note that this is a little bit different from the C language in
    that global variables in C are automatically available to
    functions unless specifically overridden by a local definition.
    This can cause some problems in that people may inadvertently
    change a global variable. In PHP global variables must be
    declared global inside a function if they are going to be used in
    that function.
   </simpara>
       
   <sect2 xml:id="language.variables.scope.global">
    <title>The <literal>global</literal> keyword</title>
    <simpara>
     The <literal>global</literal> keyword is used to bind a variable
     from a global scope into a local scope. The keyword can be used with
     a list of variables or a single variable. A local variable will be created
     referencing the global variable of the same name. If the global
     variable does not exist, the variable will be created in global scope and
     assigned &null;.
    </simpara>
    <para>
     <example>
      <title>Using <literal>global</literal></title>
      <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$a = 1;
$b = 2;

function Sum()
{
    global $a, $b;

    $b = $a + $b;
} 

Sum();
echo $b;
?>
]]>
      </programlisting>
      &example.outputs;
      <screen>
<![CDATA[
3
]]>
      </screen>
     </example>
    </para>

   <simpara>
    By declaring
    <varname>$a</varname> and <varname>$b</varname> global within the
    function, all references to either variable will refer to the
    global version. There is no limit to the number of global
    variables that can be manipulated by a function.
   </simpara>

   <simpara>
    A second way to access variables from the global scope is to use
    the special PHP-defined <varname>$GLOBALS</varname> array. The
    previous example can be rewritten as:
   </simpara>
   <para>
    <example>
     <title>Using <varname>$GLOBALS</varname> instead of global</title>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$a = 1;
$b = 2;

function Sum()
{
    $GLOBALS['b'] = $GLOBALS['a'] + $GLOBALS['b'];
} 

Sum();
echo $b;
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </example>
   </para>

   <simpara>
    The <varname>$GLOBALS</varname> array is an associative array with
    the name of the global variable being the key and the contents of
    that variable being the value of the array element.
    Notice how <varname>$GLOBALS</varname> exists in any scope, this 
    is because <varname>$GLOBALS</varname> is a <link
    linkend="language.variables.superglobals">superglobal</link>.
    Here's an example demonstrating the power of superglobals: 
   </simpara>
   <para>
    <example>
     <title>Example demonstrating superglobals and scope</title>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
function test_superglobal()
{
    echo $_POST['name'];
}
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </example>
   </para>
   <note>
    <simpara>
     Using <literal>global</literal> keyword outside a function is not an
     error. It can be used if the file is included from inside a function.
    </simpara>
   </note>
  </sect2>
 
  <sect2 xml:id="language.variables.scope.static">
   <title>Using <literal>static</literal> variables</title>
   <simpara>
    Another important feature of variable scoping is the
    <emphasis>static</emphasis> variable. A static variable exists
    only in a local function scope, but it does not lose its value
    when program execution leaves this scope. Consider the following
    example:
   </simpara>
   <para>
    <example>
     <title>Example demonstrating need for static variables</title>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
function test()
{
    $a = 0;
    echo $a;
    $a++;
}
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </example>
   </para>
   <simpara>
    This function is quite useless since every time it is called it
    sets <varname>$a</varname> to <literal>0</literal> and prints
    <literal>0</literal>. The <varname>$a</varname>++ which increments the
    variable serves no purpose since as soon as the function exits the
    <varname>$a</varname> variable disappears. To make a useful
    counting function which will not lose track of the current count,
    the <varname>$a</varname> variable is declared static:
   </simpara>
   <para>
    <example>
     <title>Example use of static variables</title>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
function test()
{
    static $a = 0;
    echo $a;
    $a++;
}
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </example>
   </para>
   <simpara>
    Now, <varname>$a</varname> is initialized only in first call of function
    and every time the <literal>test()</literal> function is called it will print the
    value of <varname>$a</varname> and increment it.
   </simpara>

   <simpara>
    Static variables also provide one way to deal with recursive
    functions. The following
    simple function recursively counts to 10, using the static
    variable <varname>$count</varname> to know when to stop:
   </simpara>
   <para>
    <example>
     <title>Static variables with recursive functions</title>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
function test()
{
    static $count = 0;

    $count++;
    echo $count;
    if ($count < 10) {
        test();
    }
    $count--;
}
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </example>
   </para>

   <para>
    Prior to PHP 8.3.0, static variables could only be initialized using
    a constant expression. As of PHP 8.3.0, dynamic expressions
    (e.g. function calls) are also allowed:
   </para>
   <para>
    <example>
     <title>Declaring static variables</title>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
function foo(){
    static $int = 0;          // correct 
    static $int = 1+2;        // correct
    static $int = sqrt(121);  // correct as of PHP 8.3.0

    $int++;
    echo $int;
}
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </example>
   </para>

   <simpara>
    Static variables inside anonymous functions persist only within that
    specific function instance. If the anonymous function is recreated on each
    call, the static variable will be reinitialized.
   </simpara>
   <example>
    <title>Static variables in anonymous functions</title>
    <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
function exampleFunction($input) {
    $result = (static function () use ($input) {
        static $counter = 0;
        $counter++;
        return "Input: $input, Counter: $counter\n";
    });

    return $result();
}

// Calls to exampleFunction will recreate the anonymous function, so the static
// variable does not retain its value.
echo exampleFunction('A'); // Outputs: Input: A, Counter: 1
echo exampleFunction('B'); // Outputs: Input: B, Counter: 1
?>
]]>
    </programlisting>
   </example>

   <para>
    As of PHP 8.1.0, when a method using static variables is inherited (but not overridden),
    the inherited method will now share static variables with the parent method.
    This means that static variables in methods now behave the same way as static properties.
   </para>

   <simpara>
    As of PHP 8.3.0, static variables can be initialized with arbitrary expressions.
    This means that method calls, for example, can be used to initialize static variables.
   </simpara>

   <example>
    <title>Usage of static Variables in Inherited Methods</title>
    <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
class Foo {
    public static function counter() {
        static $counter = 0;
        $counter++;
        return $counter;
    }
}
class Bar extends Foo {}
var_dump(Foo::counter()); // int(1)
var_dump(Foo::counter()); // int(2)
var_dump(Bar::counter()); // int(3), prior to PHP 8.1.0 int(1)
var_dump(Bar::counter()); // int(4), prior to PHP 8.1.0 int(2)
?> 
]]>
    </programlisting>
   </example>
  </sect2>

  <sect2 xml:id="language.variables.scope.references">
   <title>References with <literal>global</literal> and <literal>static</literal> variables</title>
   <simpara>
    PHP implements the
    <link linkend="language.variables.scope.static">static</link> and 
    <link linkend="language.variables.scope.global">global</link> modifier 
    for variables in terms of <link linkend="language.references">
    references</link>. For example, a true global variable
    imported inside a function scope with the <literal>global</literal>
    statement actually creates a reference to the global variable. This can
    lead to unexpected behaviour which the following example addresses:
   </simpara>

   <informalexample>
    <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
function test_global_ref() {
    global $obj;
    $new = new stdClass;
    $obj = &$new;
}

function test_global_noref() {
    global $obj;
    $new = new stdClass;
    $obj = $new;
}

test_global_ref();
var_dump($obj);
test_global_noref();
var_dump($obj);
?>
]]>
    </programlisting>
   </informalexample>

   &example.outputs;

   <screen>
<![CDATA[
NULL
object(stdClass)#1 (0) {
}
]]>
   </screen>

   <simpara>
    A similar behaviour applies to the <literal>static</literal> statement.
    References are not stored statically:
   </simpara>
   
   <informalexample>
    <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
function &get_instance_ref() {
    static $obj;

    echo 'Static object: ';
    var_dump($obj);
    if (!isset($obj)) {
        $new = new stdClass;
        // Assign a reference to the static variable
        $obj = &$new;
    }
    if (!isset($obj->property)) {
        $obj->property = 1;
    } else {
        $obj->property++;
    }
    return $obj;
}

function &get_instance_noref() {
    static $obj;

    echo 'Static object: ';
    var_dump($obj);
    if (!isset($obj)) {
        $new = new stdClass;
        // Assign the object to the static variable
        $obj = $new;
    }
    if (!isset($obj->property)) {
        $obj->property = 1;
    } else {
        $obj->property++;
    }
    return $obj;
}

$obj1 = get_instance_ref();
$still_obj1 = get_instance_ref();
echo "\n";
$obj2 = get_instance_noref();
$still_obj2 = get_instance_noref();
?>
]]>
    </programlisting>
   </informalexample>
   &example.outputs;
   <screen>
<![CDATA[
Static object: NULL
Static object: NULL

Static object: NULL
Static object: object(stdClass)#3 (1) {
  ["property"]=>
  int(1)
}
]]>
   </screen>

   <simpara>
    This example demonstrates that when assigning a reference to a static
    variable, it is not <emphasis>remembered</emphasis> when the
    <literal>&amp;get_instance_ref()</literal> function is called a second time.
   </simpara>
   </sect2>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 xml:id="language.variables.variable">
   <title>Variable variables</title>

   <simpara>
    Sometimes it is convenient to be able to have variable variable
    names. That is, a variable name which can be set and used
    dynamically. A normal variable is set with a statement such as:
   </simpara>

   <informalexample>
    <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$a = 'hello';
?>
]]>
    </programlisting>
   </informalexample>

   <simpara>
    A variable variable takes the value of a variable and treats that
    as the name of a variable. In the above example,
    <emphasis>hello</emphasis>, can be used as the name of a variable
    by using two dollar signs. i.e.
   </simpara>

   <informalexample>
    <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$$a = 'world';
?>
]]>
    </programlisting>
   </informalexample>

   <simpara>
    At this point two variables have been defined and stored in the
    PHP symbol tree: <varname>$a</varname> with contents "hello" and
    <varname>$hello</varname> with contents "world". Therefore, this
    statement:
   </simpara>

   <informalexample>
    <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
echo "$a {$$a}";
?>
]]>
    </programlisting>
   </informalexample>

   <simpara>
    produces the exact same output as:
   </simpara>

   <informalexample>
    <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
echo "$a $hello";
?>
]]>
    </programlisting>
   </informalexample>

   <simpara>
    i.e. they both produce: <computeroutput>hello world</computeroutput>.
   </simpara>

   <simpara>
    In order to use variable variables with arrays,
    an ambiguity problem has to be resolved. That is, if the parser sees
    <varname>$$a[1]</varname> then it needs to know if
    <varname>$a[1]</varname> was meant to be used as a variable, or if
    <varname>$$a</varname> was wanted as the variable and then the <literal>[1]</literal>
    index from that variable. The syntax for resolving this ambiguity
    is: <varname>${$a[1]}</varname> for the first case and
    <varname>${$a}[1]</varname> for the second. 
   </simpara>

   <simpara>
    Class properties may also be accessed using variable property names. The
    variable property name will be resolved within the scope from which the
    call is made. For instance, if there is an expression such as
    <varname>$foo->$bar</varname>, then the local scope will be examined for
    <varname>$bar</varname> and its value will be used as the name of the
    property of <varname>$foo</varname>. This is also true if
    <varname>$bar</varname> is an array access.
   </simpara>

   <simpara>
    Curly braces may also be used to clearly delimit the property
    name. They are most useful when accessing values within a property that
    contains an array, when the property name is made of multiple parts,
    or when the property name contains characters that are not
    otherwise valid (e.g. from <function>json_decode</function>
    or <link linkend="book.simplexml">SimpleXML</link>).
   </simpara>

   <para>
    <example>
     <title>Variable property example</title>
      <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
class Foo {
    public $bar = 'I am bar.';
    public $arr = ['I am A.', 'I am B.', 'I am C.'];
    public $r   = 'I am r.';
}

$foo = new Foo();
$bar = 'bar';
$baz = ['foo', 'bar', 'baz', 'quux'];
echo $foo->$bar . "\n";
echo $foo->{$baz[1]} . "\n";

$start = 'b';
$end   = 'ar';
echo $foo->{$start . $end} . "\n";

$arr = 'arr';
echo $foo->{$arr[1]} . "\n";
echo $foo->{$arr}[1] . "\n";

?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
     &example.outputs;
     <screen>
<![CDATA[
I am bar.
I am bar.
I am bar.
I am r.
I am B.
]]>
     </screen>
    </example>
   </para>

   <warning>
    <simpara>
     Please note that variable variables cannot be used with PHP's 
     <link linkend="language.variables.superglobals">Superglobal arrays</link>
     within functions or class methods. The variable <literal>$this</literal>
     is also a special variable that cannot be referenced dynamically.
    </simpara>
   </warning>
  
  </sect1>

  <sect1 xml:id="language.variables.external">
   <title>Variables From External Sources</title>
   
   <sect2 xml:id="language.variables.external.form">
    <title>HTML Forms (GET and POST)</title>

    <simpara>
     When a form is submitted to a PHP script, the information from 
     that form is automatically made available to the script. There 
     are few ways to access this information, for example:
    </simpara>

    <para>
     <example>
      <title>A simple HTML form</title>
      <programlisting role="html">
<![CDATA[
<form action="foo.php" method="post">
    Name:  <input type="text" name="username" /><br />
    Email: <input type="text" name="email" /><br />
    <input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit me!" />
</form>
]]>
      </programlisting>
     </example>
    </para>

    <para>
     There are only two ways to access data from HTML forms.
     Currently available methods are listed below:
    </para>

    <para>
     <example>
      <title>Accessing data from a simple POST HTML form</title>
      <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
echo $_POST['username'];
echo $_REQUEST['username'];
?>
]]>
      </programlisting>
     </example>
    </para>

    <para>
     Using a GET form is similar except the appropriate
     GET predefined variable can be used instead. GET also applies to the
     <literal>QUERY_STRING</literal> (the information after the '?' in a URL). So,
     for example, <literal>http://www.example.com/test.php?id=3</literal>
     contains GET data which is accessible with <varname>$_GET['id']</varname>.
     See also <varname>$_REQUEST</varname>.
    </para>

    <note>
     <para>
      Dots and spaces in variable names are converted to underscores. For
      example <literal>&lt;input name="a.b" /&gt;</literal> becomes
      <literal>$_REQUEST["a_b"]</literal>.
     </para>
    </note>

    <simpara>
     PHP also understands arrays in the context of form variables 
     (see the <link linkend="faq.html">related faq</link>).
     For example, related variables may be grouped together, or this
     feature may be used to retrieve values from a multiple select input. For
     example, let's post a form to itself and upon submission display 
     the data:
    </simpara>

    <para>
     <example>
      <title>More complex form variables</title>
      <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
if ($_POST) {
    echo '<pre>';
    echo htmlspecialchars(print_r($_POST, true));
    echo '</pre>';
}
?>
<form action="" method="post">
    Name:  <input type="text" name="personal[name]" /><br />
    Email: <input type="text" name="personal[email]" /><br />
    Beer: <br />
    <select multiple name="beer[]">
        <option value="warthog">Warthog</option>
        <option value="guinness">Guinness</option>
        <option value="stuttgarter">Stuttgarter Schwabenbräu</option>
    </select><br />
    <input type="submit" value="submit me!" />
</form>
]]>
      </programlisting>
     </example>
    </para>

    <note>
     <simpara>
      If an external variable name begins with a valid array syntax, trailing characters
      are silently ignored. For example, <literal>&lt;input name="foo[bar]baz"&gt;</literal>
      becomes <literal>$_REQUEST['foo']['bar']</literal>.
     </simpara>
    </note>
 
    <sect3 xml:id="language.variables.external.form.submit">
     <title>IMAGE SUBMIT variable names</title>

     <simpara>
      When submitting a form, it is possible to use an image instead
      of the standard submit button with a tag like:
     </simpara>

     <informalexample>
      <programlisting role="html">
<![CDATA[
<input type="image" src="image.gif" name="sub" />
]]>
      </programlisting>
     </informalexample>

     <simpara>
      When the user clicks somewhere on the image, the accompanying
      form will be transmitted to the server with two additional
      variables, <varname>sub_x</varname> and <varname>sub_y</varname>.
      These contain the coordinates of the
      user click within the image. The experienced may note that the
      actual variable names sent by the browser contains a period
      rather than an underscore, but PHP converts the period to an
      underscore automatically.
     </simpara>
    </sect3>

   </sect2>

   <sect2 xml:id="language.variables.external.cookies">
    <title>HTTP Cookies</title>

    <simpara>
     PHP transparently supports HTTP cookies as defined by <link
     xlink:href="&url.rfc;6265">RFC 6265</link>. Cookies are a
     mechanism for storing data in the remote browser and thus
     tracking or identifying return users. It is possible to set cookies using
     the <function>setcookie</function> function. Cookies are part of
     the HTTP header, so the SetCookie function must be called before
     any output is sent to the browser. This is the same restriction
     as for the <function>header</function> function. Cookie data
     is then available in the appropriate cookie data arrays, such
     as <varname>$_COOKIE</varname> as well as in <varname>$_REQUEST</varname>.
     See the <function>setcookie</function> manual page for more details and 
     examples.
    </simpara>

    <note>
     <simpara>
      As of PHP 7.2.34, 7.3.23 and 7.4.11, respectively, the <emphasis>names</emphasis>
      of incoming cookies are no longer url-decoded for security reasons.
     </simpara>
    </note>

    <simpara>
     If multiple values should be assigned to a single cookie variable,
     they can be assigned as an array. For example:
    </simpara>

    <informalexample>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
  setcookie("MyCookie[foo]", 'Testing 1', time()+3600);
  setcookie("MyCookie[bar]", 'Testing 2', time()+3600);
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </informalexample>
    
    <simpara>
     That will create two separate cookies although <varname>MyCookie</varname> will now 
     be a single array in the script. If just one cookie should be set
     with multiple values, consider using <function>serialize</function> or
     <function>explode</function> on the value first.
    </simpara>

    <simpara>
     Note that a cookie will replace a previous cookie by the same
     name in the browser unless the path or domain is different. So,
     for a shopping cart application a counter may be kept,
     and passed along. I.e.
    </simpara>

    <example>
     <title>A <function>setcookie</function> example</title>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
if (isset($_COOKIE['count'])) {
    $count = $_COOKIE['count'] + 1;
} else {
    $count = 1;
}
setcookie('count', $count, time()+3600);
setcookie("Cart[$count]", $item, time()+3600);
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </example>

   </sect2>

   <sect2 xml:id="language.variables.external.dot-in-names">
    <title>Dots in incoming variable names</title>

    <para>
     Typically, PHP does not alter the names of variables when they
     are passed into a script. However, it should be noted that the
     dot (period, full stop) is not a valid character in a PHP
     variable name. For the reason, look at it:
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$varname.ext;  /* invalid variable name */
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
     Now, what the parser sees is a variable named
     <varname>$varname</varname>, followed by the string concatenation
     operator, followed by the barestring (i.e. unquoted string which
     doesn't match any known key or reserved words) 'ext'. Obviously,
     this doesn't have the intended result.
    </para>

    <para>
     For this reason, it is important to note that PHP will
     automatically replace any dots in incoming variable names with
     underscores.
    </para>

   </sect2>

   <sect2 xml:id="language.variables.determining-type-of">
    <title>Determining variable types</title>

    <para>
     Because PHP determines the types of variables and converts them
     (generally) as needed, it is not always obvious what type a given
     variable is at any one time. PHP includes several functions
     which find out what type a variable is, such as:
     <function>gettype</function>, <function>is_array</function>,
     <function>is_float</function>, <function>is_int</function>,
     <function>is_object</function>, and
     <function>is_string</function>. See also the chapter on
     <link linkend="language.types">Types</link>.
    </para>
    <para>
     HTTP being a text protocol, most, if not all, content that comes in
     <link linkend="language.variables.superglobals">Superglobal arrays</link>, 
     like <varname>$_POST</varname> and <varname>$_GET</varname> will remain
     as strings. PHP will not try to convert values to a specific type.
     In the example below, <varname>$_GET["var1"]</varname> will contain the
     string "null" and <varname>$_GET["var2"]</varname>, the string "123".
     <programlisting>
<![CDATA[
/index.php?var1=null&var2=123
]]>
      </programlisting>
    </para>
   </sect2>

   <sect2 xml:id="language.variables.external.changelog">
    &reftitle.changelog;

    <para>
     <informaltable>
      <tgroup cols="2">
       <thead>
        <row>
         <entry>&Version;</entry>
         <entry>&Description;</entry>
        </row>
       </thead>
       <tbody>
        <row>
         <entry>7.2.34, 7.3.23, 7.4.11</entry>
         <entry>
          The <emphasis>names</emphasis> of incoming cookies are no longer url-decoded
          for security reasons.
         </entry>
        </row>
       </tbody>
      </tgroup>
     </informaltable>
    </para>
   </sect2>

  </sect1>

 </chapter>
 
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