isset PHP isset($_GET['something']) ? $_GET['something'] : ''

Question

I am looking to expand on my PHP knowledge, and I came across something I am not sure what it is or how to even search for it. I am looking at php.net isset code, and I see isset($_GET['something']) ? $_GET['something'] : ''

I understand normal isset operations, such as if(isset($_GET['something']){ If something is exists, then it is set and we will do something } but I don't understand the ?, repeating the get again, the : or the ''. Can someone help break this down for me or at least point me in the right direction?

Answer 1

It's commonly referred to as 'shorthand' or the Ternary Operator.

$test = isset($_GET['something']) ? $_GET['something'] : ''; 

means

if(isset($_GET['something'])) {     $test = $_GET['something']; } else {     $test = ''; } 

To break it down:

$test = ... // assign variable isset(...) // test ? ... // if test is true, do ... (equivalent to if) : ... // otherwise... (equivalent to else) 

Or...

// test --v if(isset(...)) { // if test is true, do ... (equivalent to ?)     $test = // assign variable } else { // otherwise... (equivalent to :) 

Answer 2

In PHP 7 you can write it even shorter:

$age = $_GET['age'] ?? 27; 

This means that the $age variable will be set to the age parameter if it is provided in the URL, or it will default to 27.

See all new features of PHP 7.