Declare multiple variables in php script to save space

Question

I have a huge form and am declaring all these variables ...

$MaidenName= $_POST['MaidenName'];
$PhoneHome= $_POST['PhoneHome'];
$SSN= $_POST['SSN'];
$BirthPlace= $_POST['BirthPlace'];
$DOB= $_POST['DOB'];
$Email= $_POST['Email'];
$MaritalStatus= $_POST['MaritalStatus'];  +many more...

I was hoping I could maybe declare them on the same line just to save space in the script with maybe a comma but that wont work ... is there another way?

Answer 1

I was writing this as you were selecting the other answer, but here it is anyway:

$item = array('MaidenName', 'PhoneHome', 'SSN', 'BirthPlace', 'DOB', 'Email', 'MaritalStatus');

foreach ($item as $key => $value)
{
    $key = $value;
    echo $key . "\n"; // this line is just for testing
    $_POST['$value'];
}

it's a more professional way of doing it.

Answer 2

I see there is an accepted answer, but still want to share a "foreachless" way:

extract(array_intersect_key($_POST, array_flip(['a','b','c'])));

This will create $a, $b and $c vars from $_POST, ignoring all of the other keys