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Start your free trialVivek Gupta
437 Pointswhat is isset?
help me to understand this isset method.
3 Answers
György Varga
19,198 PointsHi!
isset is returning with true if the variable you add to isset ( for example: isset($var) ) is set to anything before, if not it, will return with false.
Hope this helps!
Matthew Bilz
15,829 PointsHi there, I'll just add to Varga's answer. isset is good to use a lot of times if you're checking variables after a form has been submitted and there is either an error and the user needs to fix a value they entered (i.e. First Name has numbers in it), or they filled everything out correctly and you return them to a page and post a message saying 'Error found' or 'Success!' --- on that page you would have a variable maybe called $errorMessage or $successMessage that would only show if it was set by those 2 previous actions I mentioned.
Here's a common little code snippet of code on a page where users fill out a form that is checked when they submit it:
//Used to display a message if the user incorrectly filled out part of a form that has been submitted
if(isset($errorMessage)) { echo $errorMessage; }
Varga's got the concept right - if a variable has a value that PHP considers not null, isset will return true. Otherwise, if the variable has not been initialized or the value is NULL, isset will return false.
I hope this makes any sense at all!
Vivek Gupta
437 PointsTHANKS