变量范围

变量的范围即它定义的上下文背景(也就是它的生效范围)。大部分的 PHP 变量只有一个单独的范围。这个单独的范围跨度同样包含了 include 和 require 引入的文件。例如:

<?php
$a
= 1;
include
'b.inc';
?>

这里变量 $a 将会在包含文件 b.inc 中生效。但是,在用户自定义函数中,一个局部函数范围将被引入。任何用于函数内部的变量按缺省情况将被限制在局部函数范围内。例如:

<?php
$a
= 1; /* global scope */

function Test()
{
    echo
$a; /* reference to local scope variable */
}

Test();
?>

这个脚本不会有任何输出,因为 echo 语句引用了一个局部版本的变量 $a,而且在这个范围内,它并没有被赋值。你可能注意到 PHP 的全局变量和 C 语言有一点点不同,在 C 语言中,全局变量在函数中自动生效,除非被局部变量覆盖。这可能引起一些问题,有些人可能漫不经心的改变一个全局变量。PHP 中全局变量在函数中使用时必须申明为全局。

global 关键字

首先,一个使用 global 的例子:

例子 12-1. 使用 global

<?php
$a
= 1;
$b = 2;

function
Sum()
{
    global
$a, $b;

    
$b = $a + $b;
}

Sum();
echo
$b;
?>

以上脚本的输出将是“3”。在函数中申明了全局变量 $a$b,任何变量的所有引用变量都会指向到全局变量。对于一个函数能够申明的全局变量的最大个数,PHP 没有限制。

在全局范围内访问变量的第二个办法,是用特殊的 PHP 自定义 $GLOBALS 数组。前面的例子可以写成:

例子 12-2. 使用 $GLOBALS 替代 global

<?php
$a
= 1;
$b = 2;

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

Sum();
echo
$b;
?>

$GLOBALS 数组中,每一个变量为一个元素,键名对应变量名,值对应变量的内容。$GLOBALS 之所以在全局范围内存在,是因为 $GLOBALS 是一个超全局变量。以下范例显示了超全局变量的用处:

例子 12-3. 演示超全局变量和作用域的例子

<?php
function test_global()
{
    
// 大多数的预定义变量并不 "super",它们需要用 'global' 关键字来使它们在函数的本地区域中有效。
    
global $HTTP_POST_VARS;

    echo
$HTTP_POST_VARS['name'];

    
// Superglobals 在任何范围内都有效,它们并不需要 'global' 声明。Superglobals 是在 PHP 4.1.0 引入的。
    
echo $_POST['name'];
}
?>

使用静态变量

变量范围的另一个重要特性是静态变量(static variable)。静态变量仅在局部函数域中存在,但当程序执行离开此作用域时,其值并不丢失。看看下面的例子:

例子 12-4. 演示需要静态变量的例子

<?php
function Test()
{
    
$a = 0;
    echo
$a;
    
$a++;
}
?>

本函数没什么用处,因为每次调用时都会将 $a 的值设为 0 并输出 "0"。将变量加一的 $a++ 没有作用,因为一旦退出本函数则变量 $a 就不存在了。要写一个不会丢失本次计数值的计数函数,要将变量 $a 定义为静态的:

例子 12-5. 使用静态变量的例子

<?php
function Test()
{
    static
$a = 0;
    echo
$a;
    
$a++;
}
?>

现在,每次调用 Test() 函数都会输出 $a 的值并加一。

静态变量也提供了一种处理递归函数的方法。递归函数是一种调用自己的函数。写递归函数时要小心,因为可能会无穷递归下去。必须确保有充分的方法来中止递归。一下这个简单的函数递归计数到 10,使用静态变量 $count 来判断何时停止:

例子 12-6. 静态变量与递归函数

<?php
function Test()
{
    static
$count = 0;

    
$count++;
    echo
$count;
    if (
$count < 10) {
        
Test();
    }
    
$count--;
}
?>

注: 静态变量可以按照上面的例子声明。如果在声明中用表达式的结果对其赋值会导致解析错误。

例子 12-7. 声明静态变量

<?php
function foo(){
    static
$int = 0;          // correct
    
static $int = 1+2;        // wrong  (as it is an expression)
    
static $int = sqrt(121);  // wrong  (as it is an expression too)

    
$int++;
    echo
$int;
}
?>

全局和静态变量的引用

在 Zend 引擎 1 代,它驱动了 PHP4,对于变量的 staticglobal 定义是以 references 的方式实现的。例如,在一个函数域内部用 global 语句导入的一个真正的全局变量实际上是建立了一个到全局变量的引用。这有可能导致预料之外的行为,如以下例子所演示的:

<?php
function test_global_ref() {
    global
$obj;
    
$obj = &new stdclass;
}

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

test_global_ref();
var_dump($obj);
test_global_noref();
var_dump($obj);
?>

执行以上例子会导致如下输出:

NULL
object(stdClass)(0) {
}

类似的行为也适用于 static 语句。引用并不是静态地存储的:

<?php
function &get_instance_ref() {
    static
$obj;

    echo
'Static object: ';
    
var_dump($obj);
    if (!isset(
$obj)) {
        
// 将一个引用赋值给静态变量
        
$obj = &new stdclass;
    }
    
$obj->property++;
    return
$obj;
}

function &
get_instance_noref() {
    static
$obj;

    echo
'Static object: ';
    
var_dump($obj);
    if (!isset(
$obj)) {
        
// 将一个对象赋值给静态变量
        
$obj = new stdclass;
    }
    
$obj->property++;
    return
$obj;
}

$obj1 = get_instance_ref();
$still_obj1 = get_instance_ref();
echo
"\n";
$obj2 = get_instance_noref();
$still_obj2 = get_instance_noref();
?>

执行以上例子会导致如下输出:

Static object: NULL
Static object: NULL

Static object: NULL
Static object: object(stdClass)(1) {
  ["property"]=>
  int(1)
}

上例演示了当把一个引用赋值给一个静态变量时,第二次调用 &get_instance_ref() 函数时其值并没有被记住


add a note add a note User Contributed Notes
davo971 AT gmail DOT NO DAMN SPAM COM
20-Sep-2006 01:17
Be careful, come across this a lot.

<?php
$var
= 'foo';

function
function1()
{
   global
$var;
  
$new_var = 'bar';
  
function2();
}

function
function2()
{
   global
$var, $new_var;
   echo(
$var . $new_var);
}

function1();

?>

Outputs foo not foobar.
alan
13-Sep-2006 01:53
Using the global keyword inside a function to define a variable is essentially the same as passing the variable by reference as a parameter:

somefunction(){
   global $var;
}

is the same as:

somefunction(& $a) {

}

The advantage to using the keyword is if you have a long list of variables  needed by the function - you dont have to pass them every time you call the function.
mega-squall at caramail dot com
22-Jul-2006 11:47
In addition to sami's comment :

`static` keyword for class method is considered a compatibility feature in PHP5. In PHP6 however, calling an instance method (not defined using `static`) as a class method (using `class::method()` ) will display an EWarning. Also note that in PHP6, calling a class method (defined using `static`) as an instance method (using `$instance->method()`) will ALSO display an EWarning.
sami doesn't want spam at no-eff-eks com
22-Jul-2006 12:18
PHP 5.1.4 doesn't seem to care about the static keyword. It doesn't let you use $this in a static method, but you can call class methods through an instance of the class using regular -> notation. You can also call instance methods as class methods through the class itself. The documentiation here is plain wrong.

class Foo {
  public static function static_fun()
  {
   return "This is a class method!\n";
  }
 
  public function not_static_fun()
  {
   return "This is an instance method!\n";
  }
}

echo '<pre>';
echo "From Foo:\n";
echo Foo::static_fun();
echo Foo::not_static_fun();
echo "\n";

echo "From \$foo = new Foo():\n";
$foo = new Foo();
echo $foo->static_fun();
echo $foo->not_static_fun();
echo '</pre>';

You'll see the following output:

From Foo:
This is a class method!
This is an instance method!

From $foo = new Foo():
This is a class method!
This is an instance method!
variable_scope-php dot net at fijiwebdesign dot com
07-Jul-2006 10:48
In response to: Variable scope

Quote: "the global keyword *will* allow you to access variables in the global scope of your script, even if those variables were not made available locally to the parent function."

Actually, the "parent" function does not access a variable in its global scope unless it specifically uses the global modifier on the variable.

See this test:

<?php

$var
= ''; // global scope
function foo() {
  
$var = 'Hello from $foo';
  
bar();
   echo
$var;
}

function
bar() {
   global
$var;
  
$var = 'Hello from $var';
}

foo(); // prints: "Hello from $foo"

?>

The global scope of the variable $var is only available to bar(), not to foo(). Even if you were to put foo() and bar() in the same parent class, this would still be the case.
jason
29-Apr-2006 06:53
This is probably self-evident to most folks here, and I expected this behavior, but it wasn't explicitly mentioned in the manual itself so I tested to find out: the global keyword *will* allow you to access variables in the global scope of your script, even if those variables were not made available locally to the parent function.  In other words, the following will work as expected, even though $a is never referenced as global within the function foo:

<?php

function foo() {
  
bar();
}

function
bar() {
   global
$a;
   echo
$a;
}

$a = "works!";
foo();

?>
Rhett
04-Apr-2006 04:37
You could get around that:

<?php
function someFunction () {
   static
$isInitialized = 0;
   static
$otherStatic = 0; // or whatever default you want

  
if (!$isInitialized) {
    
$otherStatic = function(); // or whatever
    
$isInitialized = 1;
   }
   ...
}
?>

Needs an extra variable and evaluates a condition every time it's run, but it does get around your problem.
SasQ
01-Apr-2006 05:02
<?php
I
use PHP 4.3 and it's impossible to assign a variable or function result to a static variable :-(  Example:

function SomeFunction()
{
 $LocalVar = 5;
 static $MyStaticVar1 = some_function();  //ERROR
 static $MyStaticVar2 = $LocalVar            //ERROR
 static $MyStaticVar3 = 7;                      //OK
 return $MyStaticVar3++;
}

It'
s a little annoying, because in some cases the value of static variables aren't necessarily known at the moment of their initialisation. And sometimes it's required to be a value returned by some function or a value of some other function created earlier. Unfortunately, the moment of the initialization is the only moment, when this kind of assignment is possible to execute only on the first time the function is called.
?>
larax at o2 dot pl
23-Mar-2006 07:38
About more complex situation using global variables..

Let's say we have two files:
a.php
<?php
  
function a() {
       include(
"b.php");
   }
  
a();
?>

b.php
<?php
   $b
= "something";
   function
b() {
       global
$b;
      
$b = "something new";
   }
  
b();
   echo
$b;
?>

You could expect that this script will return "something new" but no, it will return "something". To make it working properly, you must add global keyword in $b definition, in above example it will be:

global $b;
$b = "something";
franp at free dot fr
11-Feb-2006 08:25
If you want to access a table row using $GLOBALS, you must do it outside string delimiters or using curl braces :

$siteParams["siteName"] = "myweb";

function foo() {
$table = $GLOBALS["siteParams"]["siteName"]."articles";  // OK
echo $table; // output  "mywebarticles"
$table = "{$GLOBALS["siteParams"]["siteName"]}articles"; // OK
echo $table; // output  "mywebarticles"
$table = "$GLOBALS[siteParams][siteName]articles";      // Not OK
echo $table; // output  "Array[siteName]article"

$result = mysql_query("UPDATE $table ...");
}

Or use global :

function foo() {
global $siteParams;
$table = "$siteParams[siteName]articles";        // OK
echo $table; // output  "mywebarticles"

$result = mysql_query("UPDATE $table ...");
}
marcin
31-Dec-2005 01:07
Sometimes in PHP 4 you need static variabiles in class. You can do it by referencing static variable in constructor to the class variable:

<?php
class test  {

   var
$var;
   var
$static_var;
   function
test()
   {
       static
$s;
      
$this->static_var =& $s;
   }
 
}

 
$a=new test();

 
$a->static_var=4;
 
$a->var=4;
 
 
$b=new test();
 
 echo
$b->static_var; //this will output 4
 
echo $b->var; //this will output nul
?>
warhog at warhog dot net
13-Dec-2005 04:22
Some interesting behavior (tested with PHP5), using the static-scope-keyword inside of class-methods.

<?php

class sample_class
{
 
public function func_having_static_var($x = NULL)
  {
   static
$var = 0;
   if (
$x === NULL)
   { return
$var; }
  
$var = $x;
  }
}

$a = new sample_class();
$b = new sample_class();

echo
$a->func_having_static_var()."\n";
echo
$b->func_having_static_var()."\n";
// this will output (as expected):
//  0
//  0

$a->func_having_static_var(3);

echo
$a->func_having_static_var()."\n";
echo
$b->func_having_static_var()."\n";
// this will output:
//  3
//  3
// maybe you expected:
//  3
//  0

?>

One could expect "3 0" to be outputted, as you might think that $a->func_having_static_var(3); only alters the value of the static $var of the function "in" $a - but as the name says, these are class-methods. Having an object is just a collection of properties, the functions remain at the class. So if you declare a variable as static inside a function, it's static for the whole class and all of its instances, not for each object.

Maybe it's senseless to post that.. cause if you want to have the behaviour that I expected, you can simply use a variable of the object itself:

<?php
class sample_class
{ protected $var = 0;
  function
func($x = NULL)
  {
$this->var = $x; }
}
?>

I believe that all normal-thinking people would never even try to make this work with the static-keyword, for those who try (like me), this note maybe helpfull.
zapakh at yahoo dot com
01-Nov-2005 12:23
Addendum to the post by tc underline at gmx TLD ch, on unsetting global variables from inside functions:

If setting to null is not a suitable substitute for unset() in your application, you can unset the global variable's entry in the $GLOBALS superglobal.

<?php
function testc()
{
  global
$a;
  echo
"  inner testc: $a\n";
  unset(
$GLOBALS['a']);
  echo
"  inner testc: $a\n";
}

$a = 5678;
echo
"<pre>";
echo
"outer: $a\n";
testc();
echo
"outer: $a\n";
echo
"</pre>\n";
?>

/***** Output:
outer: 5678
  inner testc: 5678
  inner testc: 5678
outer:
******/

If the behavior of testc (or testa or testb, for that matter) seems surprising, consider that the use of the 'global' keyword simply performs an assignment by reference.  In other words,

<?php
 
global $a;              //these two lines
 
$a =& $GLOBALS['a'];    //are equivalent.
?>

If you've read http://php.net/references , then everything behaves as you'd expect.
tc underline at gmx TLD ch
14-Sep-2005 06:06
Pay attention while unsetting variables inside functions:

<?php
$a
= "1234";
echo
"<pre>";
echo
"outer: $a\n";
function
testa()
{
   global
$a;
   echo
"  inner testa: $a\n";
   unset (
$a);
   echo
"  inner testa: $a\n";
}
function
testb()
{
   global
$a;
   echo
"  inner testb: $a\n";
  
$a = null;
   echo
"  inner testb: $a\n";
}
testa();
echo
"outer: $a\n";
testb();
echo
"outer: $a\n";
echo
"</pre>";
?>

/***** Result:
outer: 1234
   inner testa: 1234
   inner testa:
outer: 1234
   inner testb: 1234
   inner testb:
outer:
******/

Took me 1 hour to find out why my variable was still there after unsetting it ...

Thomas Candrian
thomas at pixtur dot de
08-Aug-2005 11:02
Be careful with "require", "require_once" and "include" inside functions. Even if the included file seems to define global variables, they might not be defined as such.

consider those two files:

---index.php------------------------------
function foo() {
 require_once("class_person.inc");

 $person= new Person();
 echo $person->my_flag; // should be true, but is undefined
}

foo();

---class_person.inc----------------------------
$seems_global=true;

class Person {
  public $my_flag;

 public function  __construct() {
   global $seems_global;
   $my_flag= $seems_global
 }
}

---------------------------------

The reason for this behavior is quiet obvious, once you figured it out. Sadly this might not be always as easy as in this example. A solution  would be to add the line...

global $seems_global;

at the beginning of "class_person.inc". That makes sure you set the global-var.

   best regards
   tom

ps: bug search time approx. 1 hour.
www dot php dot net dot 2nd at mailfilter dot com dot ar
17-Jul-2005 09:43
To the bemused poster: Of course you can't compare processing times between functions/no functions. I only wanted to see the difference between referenced and copied variables in different scenarios. Tests are only meant to compare between pairs (i.e., call a function with & and call the same function without &). I did 4 individual pairs of tests, so test 1 compares to test 2, test 3 compares to test 4, test 5 compares to test 6 and test 7 compares to test 8. The strlen() call was there only to make sure the value is actually accessed.
17-Jul-2005 08:42
To the last poster, regarding the speed tests:

<?php
$a
= str_repeat('text', 100);
$b = $a;
$c =& $a;
// $c == $b == $a

// But you assigned a different value within the functions:
$len = strlen($a); // $len != $a
?>

I was bemused; how could the processing times of the functions/no-functions tests be compared in this way? And calling the strlen() function within each iteration of the loop must take more time anyway?
www dot php dot net dot 2nd at mailfilter dot com dot ar
16-Jul-2005 10:39
I've been doing some performance tests. I thought I could squeeze some extra cyles using references, but I discovered they are more mysterious than I imagined (5.0.3).

Consider this:

$a = str_repeat('hola',10000000);
for($n = 0 ; $n < 1000000 ; $n++ ) { $b = $a; unset($b); }

real    0m1.514s
user    0m1.433s
sys    0m0.071s

The above times (as others in this note) are the best out of three attempts in an idle Linux box.

I expected the above to be a bit slow, since constructing $b might imply copying the 40MB string each time. It was very fast, though. Let's try with references:

$a = str_repeat('hola',10000000);
for($n = 0 ; $n < 1000000 ; $n++ ) { $b =& $a; unset($b); }

real    0m1.488s
user    0m1.380s
sys    0m0.071s

Not much of a gain, but it did took less time to complete. Will this work with functions? Let's see:

$a = str_repeat('hola',10000000);
for($n = 0 ; $n < 1000000 ; $n++ ) dosome($a);
function dosome($arg){ $t = strlen($arg); }

real    0m3.518s
user    0m3.276s
sys    0m0.088s

Mmm... much slower, but still pretty nice. I didn't use references yet, so let's try them out:

$a = str_repeat('hola',10000000);
for($n = 0 ; $n < 100 ; $n++ ) dosome($a);
function dosome(&$arg){ $t = strlen($arg); }

real    0m12.071s
user    0m6.190s
sys    0m5.821s

You think it is 3.5 times slower? Think again. It is 350,000 times slower. I had to limit the $n loop to 100 iterations in order to get those figures! I wonder what happens if I try to access the variable globally:

$a = str_repeat('hola',10000000);
for($n = 0 ; $n < 1000000 ; $n++ ) dosome();
function dosome(){ $t = strlen($GLOBALS['a']); }

real    0m3.007s
user    0m2.918s
sys    0m0.074s

Notice that using $GLOBALS we're back in bussiness. So using the global keyword should be exactly the same, isn't it? Wrong again:

$a = str_repeat('hola',10000000);
for($n = 0 ; $n < 100 ; $n++ ) dosome();
function dosome(){ global $a; $t = strlen($a); }

real    0m12.423s
user    0m6.112s
sys    0m5.917s

We're in the '350,000 times slower' domain again. I wonder why the script is spending so much time in sys.

A couple of additional tests to complete the puzzle:

$a = str_repeat('hola',10000000); $b = Array(&$a);
for($n = 0 ; $n < 100 ; $n++ ) dosome();
function dosome(){ $t = strlen($GLOBALS['b'][0]); }

real    0m12.087s
user    0m6.068s
sys    0m5.955s

$a = str_repeat('hola',10000000); $b = Array(&$a);
for($n = 0 ; $n < 100 ; $n++ ) dosome();
function dosome(){ global $b; $t = strlen($b[0]); }

real    0m12.158s
user    0m6.023s
sys    0m5.971s

I guess the $GLOBALS trick doesn't help when we access a reference stored in the global variable.

I'm completely confused, now. At this light, I will review my usage of the global keyword as well as for the references. I hope someone can benefit from this study too.
jameslee at cs dot nmt dot edu
17-Jun-2005 05:33
It should be noted that a static variable inside a method is static across all instances of that class, i.e., all objects of that class share the same static variable.  For example the code:

<?php
class test {
   function
z() {
       static
$n = 0;
      
$n++;
       return
$n;
   }
}

$a =& new test();
$b =& new test();
print
$a->z();  // prints 1, as it should
print $b->z();  // prints 2 because $a and $b have the same $n
?>

somewhat unexpectedly prints:
1
2
kouber at php dot net
28-Apr-2005 08:36
If you need all your global variables available in a function, you can use this:

<?
function foo() {
 
extract($GLOBALS);
 
// here you have all global variables

}
?>
27-Apr-2005 07:46
Be careful if your static variable is an array and you return
one of it's elements: Other than a scalar variable, elements
of an array are returned as reference (regardless if you
didn't define them to be returned by reference).

<?php
function incr(&$int) {
  return
$int++;
}

function
return_copyof_scalar() {
  static
$v;
  if (!
$v
  
$v = 1;
  return(
$v);
}

function
return_copyof_arrayelement() {
  static
$v;
  if (!
$v) {
  
$v = array();
  
$v[0] = 1;
  }
  return(
$v[0]);
}

echo
"scalar: ".
    
incr(return_copyof_scalar()).
    
incr(return_copyof_scalar()).
    
"\n";
echo
"arrayelement: ".
    
incr(return_copyof_arrayelement()).
    
incr(return_copyof_arrayelement()).
    
"\n";
?>

Should print

scalar: 11
arrayelement: 11

but it prints:

scalar: 11
arrayelement: 12

as in the second case the arrays element was returned by
reference. According to a guy from the bug reports the
explanation for this behaviour should be somewhere here in
the documentation (in 'the part with title: "References with
global and static variables"'). Unfortunately I can't find
anything about that here. As the guys from the bug reports
are surely right in every case, maybe there is something
missing in the documentation. Sadly I don't have a good
explanation why this happens, so I decided to document at
least the behaviour.
vdephily at bluemetrix dot com
22-Apr-2005 05:51
Be carefull about nested functions :
<?php
// won't work :
function foo1()
{
 
$who = "world";
  function
bar1()
  {
   global
$who;
   echo
"Hello $who";
  }
}

// will work :
function foo2()
{
 
$GLOBALS['who'] = "world";
  function
bar2()
  {
   global
$who;
   echo
"Hello $who";
  }
}

// also note, of course :
function foo3()
{
 
$GLOBALS['who'] = "world";

 
// won't work
 
echo "Hello $who";

 
// will work
 
global $who;
  echo
"Hello $who";
}
?>
S dot Radovanovic at TriMM dot nl
15-Feb-2005 11:50
Sadly I have found out that I have been wrong about my statements below, why?

Well:
1. only the variables that were set in the constructor were 'live' in my referenced object
2. I was assigning this an object and not a reference

So:
I fixed nr. 1 by adding the & when initializing the object (this way this works on the initialized object and not a copy of it)
<?php
//screen factory
$objErrorConfig = & new Config("error.conf");
$objErrorConfig->setSection("messages");

//object factory
//If no file is stated, the last one is used, this way this instance will have the reference to the previously created instance of objErrorConfig in object screen
$objErrorConfig = & new Config();
$errorMessage = $objErrorConfig->get($errorName);
?>
Now the variables assigned after the constructor ($objErrorConfig->setSection("messages");) will also be 'live' in the static obj array.

I had to find a workaround for nr.2, since it is impossible to assign a reference to this. That's why I used code proposed by others, nl. I referenced all the members of the objects:
<?php
//Because we cannot make a direct reference from our object (by doing $this = & $theObject)
//we'll make references of our members
$arrClassVars = get_class_vars(get_class($theObject));
foreach(
$arrClassVars as $member=>$value) {
  
$this->$member = &$theObject->$member;
}               
//To make sure we are working with a reference we will store our new object as the reference
//in the singeltonobject array (so all other initialized (referenced) objects will have the
//newest one as super referer
$arrSingletonObject[$this->_configfile] = & $this;
?>

So in the end, I had better used what everbody was using (creating a Singleton through an method, instead of through the constructor), but hey, I learned something again :)
S dot Radovanovic at trimm dot nl
05-Feb-2005 06:54
To use the Singleton Pattern (as available in PHP5), we must do a little trick in PHP4.

Most examples I've seen look like this:
//Creation of singleton, Example, Example1 objects
//and then
<?
$myExample 
=& singleton('Example');
$myExample1 =& singleton('Example1');
?>

What I wanted was a way to use the Singleton Pattern on initialization of a new object (no calling of a method by reference (or something like that)).
The initializor doesn't have to know that the object it is trying to initialize uses the Singleton Pattern.
Therefor I came up with the following:

Beneath is part of a Config object that allows me to retrieve configuration data read from specific ini files (through parse_ini_file). Because I wanted to use the Config object in different other objects without having to pass a reference to the Config object all the time and without some of them having to now how the Config object was loaded (which configuration file was used) I had the need for the Singleton pattern.
To accomplish the Singleton pattern in the Constructor I've created a static array containing references to configuration file specific objects (each new configuration file creates a new instance of the Config object).
If we then try to create a new instance of an already loaded Config object (with the same configuration file), the objects set this to the reference of the previously created object, thus pointing both instances to the same object.
Here's the main part of the script.

Here's an example of how to use the Config object:
<?php
//dataheader
Config::setIniPath("/home/mydir/data/conffiles");

//object screen
$objTemplateConfig = new Config("template.conf");
$objErrorConfig = new Config("error.conf");

//objTemplateConfig and objErrorConfig are 2 different instances
$templatePath = $objTemplateConfig->get("template_path");
$errorColor = $objErrorConfig->get("error_color");

//object factory
//If no file is stated, the last one is used, this way this instance will have the reference to the previously created instance of objErrorConfig in object screen
$objErrorConfig = new Config();
$errorMessage = $objErrorConfig->get($errorName);
?>

So without the initializor knowing it he/she has retrieved a reference to a previously instantiated Config object (knowledge of this resides with the object).
Here's the constructor part of the config object:
S dot Radovanovic at trimm dot nl
05-Feb-2005 06:54
<?php
  
function __constructor($configfile = '', $blnSingleton = true) {   
      
//We must define a static array that contains our reference(s) to the object(s)
      
static $arrSingletonObject = array();
      
      
//We also need to specify a static local member, that keeps track of the last
       //initialize configfile, so that we can use this if no file has been specified
       //(this way we enable it for the initializor, to work with a previously initialized
       //config object, without knowing what configfile it uses
      
static $lastConfigfile;
              
       if(!empty(
$configfile)) {
          
//Store the set configfile name in the static local member
          
$lastConfigfile = $configfile;
          
       } else if(!empty(
$lastConfigfile)) {
          
          
//If the configfile was empty, we retrieve it from the last known initialized
          
$configfile = $lastConfigfile;
          
       } else {
          
//if we've reached so far, it means no configfile has been set at all (now
           //or previously), so we cannot continue
          
trigger_error("No configfile has been specified.", ERROR);
          
          
//Return (instead of an exit (or die)) so that the constructor isn't continued
          
return;
       }
      
      
//Set the configuration file
      
$this->_configfile = $configfile;
      
      
//Only if we want to use singleton we may proceed
      
if($blnSingleton) {
          
          
//We must now check to see if we already have a reference to the (to be created) config
           //object
          
if(!isset($arrSingletonObject[$this->_configfile])) {
              
//Create of reference of myself, so that it can be added to the singleton object array
              
$arrSingletonObject[$this->_configfile] = &$this;
              
              
//We can now proceed and read the contents of the specified ini file
              
$this->_parseIniFile();
              
           } else {
              
//Associate myself with the reference of the existing config object
              
$this = $arrSingletonObject[$this->_configfile];
           }
       }
   }
?>
pulstar at ig dot com dot br
09-Sep-2004 09:02
If you need all your global variables available in a function, you can use this:

<?php

function foo(parameters) {
  if(
version_compare(phpversion(),"4.3.0")>=0) {
   foreach(
$GLOBALS as $arraykey=>$arrayvalue) {
     global $
$arraykey;
   }
  }
 
// now all global variables are locally available...
}

?>
info AT SyPlex DOT net
01-Sep-2004 08:35
Some times you need to access the same static in more than one function. There is an easy way to solve this problem:

<?php
 
// We need a way to get a reference of our static
 
function &getStatic() {
   static
$staticVar;
   return
$staticVar;
  }

 
// Now we can access the static in any method by using it's reference
 
function fooCount() {
  
$ref2static = & getStatic();
   echo
$ref2static++;
  }

 
fooCount(); // 0
 
fooCount(); // 1
 
fooCount(); // 2
?>
shyam dot g at gmail dot com
03-Jul-2004 06:52
in response to Michael's comments, it is imperative to observe that static variables in methods of an object are not class level variables.
and since both a and b from the previous example are 2 different objects, there is no question of the static variable being shared between the objects.

The variable is static with respect to the function and not the class.

sam
Michael Bailey (jinxidoru at byu dot net)
05-Jun-2004 02:43
Static variables do not hold through inheritance.  Let class A have a function Z with a static variable.  Let class B extend class A in which function Z is not overwritten.  Two static variables will be created, one for class A and one for class B.

Look at this example:

<?php
class A {
   function
Z() {
       static
$count = 0;       
      
printf("%s: %d\n", get_class($this), ++$count);
   }
}

class
B extends A {}

$a = new A();
$b = new B();
$a->Z();
$a->Z();
$b->Z();
$a->Z();
?>

This code returns:

A: 1
A: 2
B: 1
A: 3

As you can see, class A and B are using different static variables even though the same function was being used.
Randolpho
03-Apr-2004 04:53
More on static variables:

My first not is probably intuitive to most, but I didn't notice it mentioned explicitly, so I'll mention it: a static variable does not retain it's value after the script's execution. Don't count on it being available from one page request to the next; you'll have to use a database for that.

Second, here's a good pattern to use for declaring a static variable based on some complex logic:

<?
 
function buildStaticVariable()
  {
    
$foo = null;
    
// some complex expression or set of
     // expressions/statements to build
     // the return variable.
    
return $foo;
  }

  function
functionWhichUsesStaticVar()
  {
     static
$foo = null;
     if(
$foo === null) $foo = buildStaticVariable();
    
// the rest of your code goes here.
 
}
?>

Using such a pattern allows you to separate the code that creates your default static variable value from the function that uses it. Easier to maintain code is good. :)
jmarbas at hotmail dot com
17-Jan-2004 07:34
Whats good for the goose is not always good for the iterative gander. If you declare and initialize the static variable more than once inside a function ie.

function Test(){
   static $count = 0;
   static $count = 1;
   static $count = 2;
   echo $count;
}

the variable will take the value of the last declaration. In this case $count=2.

But! however when you make that function recursive ie.

  function Test(){
   static $count = 0;
   static $count = 1;
   static $count = 2;

   $count++;
   echo $count;
   if ($count<10){
     Test();
   }
  }

Every call to the function Test() is a differenct SCOPE and therefore the static declarations and initializations are NOT executed again. So what Im trying to say is that its OK to declare and initialize a static variable multiple times if you are in one function... but its NOT OK to declare and initialize a static variable multiple times if you call that same function multiple times. In other words the static variable is set once you LEAVE a function (even if you go back into that very same function).
Jack at soinsincere dot com
15-Nov-2003 02:11
Alright, so you can't set a static variable with a reference.
However, you can set a static variable to an array with an element that is a reference:
<?php

class myReference {
   function
getOrSet($array = null) {
       static
$myValue;
       if (!
$array) {
           return
$myValue[0];    //Return reference in array
      
}
      
$myValue = $array;          //Set static variable with array
      
static $myValue;
   }
}

$static = "Dummy";

$dummy = new myReference;
$dummy->getOrSet(array(&$static));

$static = "Test";
print
$dummy->getOrSet();

?>
flobee at gmx dot net
06-Nov-2003 04:26
i found out that on any (still not found) reason the <?php static $val =NULL; ?> is not working when trying to extract the data form the $var with a while statment
e.g.:
<?php
funktion get_data
() {
static
$myarray = null;
   if(
$myarray == NULL) {
    
//get some info in an array();
    
$myarray = array('one','two');
   }
   while(list(
$key,$val) = each( $myarray ) ) {
  
// do something
  
echo "x: $key , y: $val";
   }
}
?>
when using foreach($myarray AS $key => $val) { .... instad of while then i see the result!
ppo at beeznest dot net
09-Jul-2003 09:59
Even if an included file return a value using return(), it's still sharing the same scope as the caller script!

<?php
$foo
= 'aaa';
$bar = include('include.php');
echo(
$foo.' / '.$bar);
?>

where include.php is
<?php
$foo
= 'bbb';
return
$foo;
?>

The output is: bbb / bbb
Not: aaa / bbb
j at superjonas dot de
15-Mar-2003 02:08
> pim wrote:
> in addition:
> if you define a function in that included file, it can't get
> the variables from the inluded file's scope. global won't work.
> The only way to give such an include function access to global
> vars is via arguments. I don't know if this is a bug in PHP.
>
> //---- from within function included file -----
> echo $var1; // this one works
> function foo()
> {
> global $var1;
> echo $var1; // this one doesn't
> }

It works if you additionally declare the variables from the inluded file's scope as global.

example:

<?php
/* file1.php */

function func1() {
   include(
"file2.php");
  
func2();
}
func1();
?>

<?php
/* file2.php */

global $var; // declare as global here
$var = 'something';

function
func2() {
   global
$var; // again here
  
echo $var; // prints "something"
}
?>
ben-xo aatt dubplates.org
13-Mar-2003 02:05
regarding the above "unset" example: I quote from the manual page for "unset".

"If a static variable is unset() inside of a function, unset() destroyes the variable and all its references. "

As mentioned above, on this page, static vars are implemented as references. When you unset() a reference, what you are doing is deleting a particular name for that variable. In your example, you delete the LOCAL NAME $a, but the static contents are still there (hidden) and next time you call your function, a NEW LOCAL NAME (again $a...) is linked to the SAME backing data.

Workaround would be something like "$a = null".
unset($a) is very much like $a = &null however, which, if you read the notes above, won't have the desired affect on static or global variables.
04-Mar-2003 11:25
As far as I can see, it's not possible to unset() a static variable inside the function:

function Test($unset = false) {
   static $a = 0;
   echo $a++;
   if ($unset) unset($a);
}

Test();
Test();
Test(true);
Test();
Test();

This will output 01234. I would expect it to at least show 01201.
pim at lingewoud dot nl
28-Feb-2003 03:46
shevek wrote:
>> If you include a file from within a function using include(),
>> the included file inherits the function scope as its own
>> global scope, it will not be able to see top level globals
>> unless they are explicit in the function.

in addition:
if you define a function in that included file, it can't get the variables from the inluded file's scope. global won't work. The only way to give such an include function access to global vars is via arguments. I don't know if this is a bug in PHP.

//---- from within function included file -----
echo $var1; // this one works
function foo()
{
global $var1;
echo $var1; // this one doesn't
}
jg at nerd-boy dot net
08-Feb-2003 08:10
It's possible to use a variable variable when specifying a variable as global in a function. That way your function can decide what global variable to access in run-time.

function func($varname)
{
   global $$varname;

   echo $$varname;
}

$hello = "hello world!";
func("hello");

This will print "hello world!", and is roughly the same as passing by reference, in the case when the variable you want to pass is global. The advantage over references is that they can't have default parameters. With the method above, you can do the following.

function func($varname = FALSE)
{
   if ($varname === FALSE)
     echo "No variable.";
   else
   {
     global $$varname;

     echo $$varname;
   }
}

$hello = "hello world!";
func("hello");                  // prints "hello world!"
func();                          // prints "No variable."
wjs@sympaticoDOTca
11-Dec-2002 01:03
Becareful where you define your global variables:

This will work:
<?php
  $MyArray
= array("Dog");

  function
SeeArray(){
   global
$MyArray;
   if (
in_array("Dog",$MyArray)){
     foreach (
$MyArray as $Element){
       echo
"$Element <hr/>";
     }
   }
  }

 
SeeArray();
?>

while this will not:
<?php
  SeeArray
();
 
$MyArray = array("Dog");

  function
SeeArray(){
   global
$MyArray;
   if (
in_array("Dog",$MyArray)){ // an error will generate here
    
foreach ($MyArray as $Element){
       echo
"$Element <hr/>";
     }
   }
  }

?>
jez at india dot com
01-Nov-2002 04:35
If anyone needs a permanent array / hash, similar in functionality to ASP's application object, check out the article on

http://zez.org/article/articleview/46/1/

which has some working code (written by me) attached. This code implements a hash with application scope, i.e. its contents can be accessed from all php scripts running on the same computer. You could use it, for example, to globally cache configuration settings for a site.
 
The hash is also cached in the db, i.e. it's inviolable. Its contents are buffered in memory, so there's no hit on the db when accessing the hash apart from the first time you read it, and of course when you write to it.
mu at despammed dot com
16-Oct-2002 07:12
morthanpurpl: You don't have to initialize variables you use first inside a variable, at least not in PHP4.2.2. The following will just work fine and output "iam":

<?php

function dumdum()
{
   global
$a;
  
$a = "iam";
}
dumdum();
echo
$a;

?>
heatwave at fw dot hu
15-Oct-2002 08:12
Some people (including me) had a problem with defining a long GLOBAL variable list in functions (very error prone). Here is a possible solution. My program parses php file for functions, and compiles GLOBAL variable lists. Then you can just remove from the list those variables which need not be global.

<?php
  
//parser for GLOBAL variable list
  
$pfile=file("myfile.php4");
  
   for(
$i=0;$i<sizeof($pfile);$i++) {
     if(
eregi("function",$pfile[$i])) {
     list(
$part1,$part2)=sscanf($pfile[$i],"%s %s");
     echo
"\n\n $part1 $part2:\nGLOBAL ";
    
    
$varlist=array();
    
$level=0; $end=$i;
     do {
      
$lpar=explode("{",$pfile[$end]);
      
$level+=sizeof($lpar)-1;
      
$lpar=explode("}",$pfile[$end]);
      
$level-=sizeof($lpar)-1;
      
$end++;
     } while((
$end<sizeof($pfile))&&($level>0));
    
$pstr="";
     for(
$j=$i;$j<=$end;$j++) $pstr.=$pfile[$j];
    
$lpar=explode("$",$pstr);
     for(
$j=1;$j<sizeof($lpar);$j++) {
        
eregi('[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*',$lpar[$j],$cvar);
      
$varlist[$cvar[0]]=1;
     }
    
array_walk($varlist,'var_print');
     }
   }
function
var_print ($item, $key) {
     echo
"$key,";
 }
?>
stlawson AT sbcglobal DOT net
06-Jul-2002 11:22
aslak is right!  Check this out:

$t1 = "outie";
function foo1()
{
  global $t1;
  $t1 = 'innie' ;
  echo ('in foo1() $t1 is an ' . $t1) ;
}

echo ('before foo1() $t1 is an ' . $t1) ;
foo1() ;
echo ('after foo1() $t1 is an ' . $t1) ;

// is identical to?:
$t2 = "outie";
function foo2()
{
  $t2 = &$GLOBALS['t2'];
  $t2 = 'innie' ;
  echo ('in foo2() $t2 is an ' . $t2) ;
}

echo ('before foo2() $t2 is an ' . $t2) ;
foo2() ;
echo ('after foo2() $t2 is an ' . $t2) ;

Output:

before foo1() $t1 is an outie
in foo1() $t1 is an innie
after foo1() $t1 is an innie
before foo2() $t2 is an outie
in foo2() $t2 is an innie
after foo2() $t2 is an innie

Also I cleaned up aslak's code a bit ;)
aslak at novita dot no
27-Jun-2002 07:54
Basicly what happens is this:

$var t;
function foo()
{
  global $t;
}

is identical to:
function foo()
{
  $t=&$GLOBALS[t];
}

which will answer the above argument becouse when you use
$t=&$somelocal;
you overwrite the first $t=&.....
cellog at users dot sourceforge dot net
03-Jun-2002 08:57
regarding May 27 comment.

Try this file, and you will see that what I said in my comment holds:

<?php
$testvar
= 1 ;
$testvar2 = 2 ;
function
foo ()
{
   global
$testvar ;
   global
$testvar2 ;
  
$testvar3 = 6;

  
$testvar 3 ; //Assigning a constant works as expected.
  
echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar],$GLOBALS[testvar2],$testvar3 <br>" // 3,3,2,6

  
$testvar 4 ; //Assigning a variable also works as expected.
  
echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar],$GLOBALS[testvar2],$testvar3 <br>" // 4,4,2,6

  
$testvar =  &$testvar2 ; // Assiging a reference points $testvar at what $testvar2
                               // is pointing at, which is $GLOBALS[testvar2]
  
echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar],$GLOBALS[testvar2],$testvar3<br> " // 2,4,2,6

  
$testvar=5 ; // Assigning a value to testvar now modifies $GLOBALS[testvar2]

  
echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar],$GLOBALS[testvar2],$testvar3<br>" ;    //5,4,5,6
  
  
$testvar = &$testvar3;

   echo
"$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar],$GLOBALS[testvar2],$testvar3<br>" ;    //6,4,5,6
  
  
$testvar = 7; // Assigning a value to testvar now modifies local $testvar3
  
echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar],$GLOBALS[testvar2],$testvar3<br>" ;    //7,4,5,7
}

foo() ;
?>

doing $testvar = &$testvar2 assigns $testvar to point at $testvar2, which is pointing at $GLOBALS[testvar2].  Later, I assign $testvar = &$testvar3, which points it at the local variable.

The & operator *only* changes what the left-hand variable points at, and not the contents of what it used to point at (to borrow from old-fashioned pointer terminology :).
JeanRobert at Videotron dot ca
28-May-2002 05:18
Comment on May 21.

This explanation does not explain why assigning a global variable
reference to a globalvariable does not modify it (See the statement
"$testvar =  &$testvar2" bellow).

Here is my own explanation:   
 
Inside a function, if we assign a variable reference to a global
variable then this global variable is replaced by a new local
variable instance. In other words, once done, futur assignment to
this variable will only modify the local copy and leave the original
global variable unchanged. Looking at the following code will
help you to understand it. (Just as a reminder $GLOBALS[testvar]
always refers to the original $testvar global variable).

$testvar = 1 ;
$testvar2 = 2 ;
function foo ()
{
   global $testvar ;
   global $testvar2 ;

   $testvar =  3 ; //Assigning a constant works as expected.
   echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar] " ;  // 3,3

   $testvar =  4 ; //Assigning a variable also works as expected.
   echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar] " ;  // 4,4

   $testvar =  &$testvar2 ; // Assiging a reference allocates a new
               // local testvar instance.
   echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar] " ;  // 2,4

   $testvar=5 ; // Assigning a value to testvar now only modifies
       // the local instance.
   echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar]" ;    //5,4
}

foo() ;

If you plan to assign a variable reference to a global variale then
you should use '$GLOBALS[testvar]=&$variable' instead of
'$testvar=&$variable'.
cellog at users dot sourceforge dot net
22-May-2002 07:02
comment on april 9 regarding:

function foo ()
{
   global $testvar;

   $localvar = new Object ();
   $testvar = &$localvar;
}

The reason this doesn't work is that when you use & to assign to $testvar, it reassigns $testvar to point at what $localvar points at.

$testvar = $localvar should work as well as $GLOBALS['testvar'] = &$localvar, although instance data will be copied and any references to parent classes will be broken.  I hate that :).

In other words, the declaration "global $testvar;" is telling php "make $testvar point at the same location as $GLOBALS['testvar']" but "$testvar = &$localvar" tells php "make $testvar point at the same location as $localvar"!!!
01-May-2002 04:14
Seems as though when a cookie is saved and referenced as a variable of the same name as the cookie, that variable is NOT global.  If you make a function ro read the value of the cookie, the cooke variable name must be declared as a global.

example:
function ReturnCookie()
{
       $cookieName = "Test_Cookie";
       global $$cookieName;
       if (isset($$cookieName))
       {
               echo ("$cookieName is set");
               $returnvalue = $$cookieName;
       }
       else
       {
               $newCookieValue = "Test Value";
               setcookie("$cookieName","$newCookieValue", (time() + 3153600));
               echo ("made a cookie:" . $newCookieValue ."<BR>");
               $returnvalue = $newCookieValue;
       }
       echo ("the cookie that was set is now $returnvalue <BR>");
       return $returnvalue;
}
huntsbox at pacbell dot net
03-Apr-2002 12:11
Not sure of the implications of this but...
You can create nested functions within functions but you must make sure they aren't defined twice, e.g.:

function norm($a, $b) {
   static $first_time = true;
   if ($first_time) {
       function square($x) {
           return $x * $x;
       }
       $first_time = false;
   }
   return sqrt(square($a) + square($b));
}

print square(5); // error, not defined yet
print norm(5,4);
print "<br>";
print norm(3,2);
print square(5); // OK

If you don't include the if ($first_time) you get an error saying you can't define square() twice.  Note that square is not local to the function it just appears there.  The last line successfully accesses square in the page scope.  This is not terribly useful, but interesting.
jochen_burkhard at web dot de
30-Mar-2002 03:47
Please don't forget:
values of included (or required) file variables are NOT available in the local script if the included file resides on a remote server:

remotefile.php:

<?PHP
$paramVal
=10;
?>

localfile.php:

<?PHP
include "http://otherserver.com/remotefile.php";
echo
"remote-value= $paramVal";
?>

Will not work (!!)
steph_rondinaud at club-internet dot fr
09-Feb-2002 08:41
I'm using PHP 4.1.1

While designing a database access class, I needed a static variable that will be incremented for all instances of the class each time the class connected to the database. The obvious solution was to declare a "connection" class variable with static scope. Unfortunatly, php doesn't allow such a declaration.
So I went back to defining a static variable in the connect method of my class. But it seems that the static scope is not inherited: if class "a" inherit the "db access" class, then the "connection" variable is shared among "a" instances, not among both "a" AND "db access" instances.
Solution is to declare the static variable out of the db access class, and declare "global" said variable in the connect method.
admin at essentialhost dot com
04-Feb-2002 10:30
Quick tip for beginners just to speed things up:<P>
If you have a bunch of global variables to import into a function, it's best to put them into a named array like $variables[stuff].  <P>
When it's time to import them you just so the following; <P>

function here() {
  $vars = $GLOBALS['variables'];

  print $vars[stuff];

}

This really helps with big ugly form submissions.
tomek at pluton dot pl
11-Dec-2001 02:53
When defining static variables you may use such declarations:

static $var = 1; //numbers
static $var = 'strings';
static $var = array(1,'a',3); //array construct

but these ones would produce errors:

static $var = some_function('arg');
static $var = (some_function('arg'));
static $var = 2+3; //any expression
static $var = new object;
danno at wpi dot edu
24-Jul-2001 03:28
WARNING!  If you create a local variable in a function and then within that function assign it to a global variable by reference the object will be destroyed when the function exits and the global var will contain NOTHING!  This main sound obvious but it can be quite tricky you have a large script (like a phpgtk-based gui app ;-) ).

example:

function foo ()
{
   global $testvar;

   $localvar = new Object ();
   $testvar = &$localvar;
}

foo ();
print_r ($testvar);  // produces NOTHING!!!!

hope this helps someone before they lose all their hair
carpathia_uk at mail dot com
08-May-2001 05:21
On confusing aspect about global scope...

If you want to access a variable such as a cookie inside a function, but theres a chance it may not even be defined, you need to access it using he GLOBALS array, not by defining it as global.

This wont work correctly....

function isLoggedin()
{
global $cookie_username;
if (isset($cookie_username)
echo "blah..";
}

This will..

function isLoggedin()
{
if (isset($GLOBALS["cookie_username"]))
echo "blah..";
}
shevek at anarres dot org
05-Feb-2000 08:51
If you include a file from within a function using include(), the included file inherits the function scope as its own global scope, it will not be able to see top level globals unless they are explicit in the function.

$foo = "bar";
function baz() {
   global $foo; # NOTE THIS
   include("qux");
}