[SOLVED] Globals

[Cless]

I have a function which is used several times in my site, but it also needs access with a ton of variables, some of which change sometimes. Rather than going through and saying "global $var1, $var2, $var3" a hundred times, is there a way for me to make all variables usable in the function, preferably without using $GLOBALS?

 

That way, I could do something such as:

 

<?php

//define variables
$cows= 2;

//declare moo function
function moo()
{
//display content
echo $cows;
}

//call moo function
moo();

?>

 

Which, if worked, would display "2".

 

Thanks!

[WolfRage]

Does this script run as a user access the site or is it more of a cron job? Because then there are seperate approahces which are preferable under different circumstances.

[Cless]

User access -- it is an online RPG. The functions I need are part of a battle system.

[WolfRage]

For speed and efficiency I would use sessions. Then just insert the vars into $_SESSION. If you need help with this subject just let me know.

[JonnoTheDev]

You should pass parameters into functions not set variables as global otherwise there is no requirement for a function.

[Cless]

But wouldn't that be worse than globals? You'd have to define all of the sessions, then delete them all at the end (or the user will have hundreds of cookies on their computer [i think]).

 

If I try to pass them through parameters, the declarations of the functions would be extremely confusing and tedious, like:

 

test($var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1, $var1);

 

Of course, they wouldn't all be "$var1", but it is pointless to go through this post and give them all a unique name, cause it's an example.

[WolfRage]

One for a session there is only one cookie, everything else stays on the server, so no it would be extremly efficient and you just destroy the session. Also why not use an array, and hell you can even store the array in your session.

[JonnoTheDev]

Put the variables into an array and pass them in within 1 parameter.

Also why would you need so many variables within a function?

 

Functions are for taking in data and returning a result. This could be a new value or an array of values. They are not designed and should hardly ever be used to modify the values of variables outside the scope of the function (for this job you would pass variables by reference). You will end up with unexpected results on your page without knowing the cause.

[Cless]

But like I've said, I change variables quite often. Going through a huge array or several declarations can be very tedious, cause errors, etc.

 

What about including the file, rather than using a function?

 

So, instead of:

 

<?php

//define variables
$var="blah";

//declare moo function
function moo()
{
//display content
echo $var;
}

//call moo function
moo();

?>

 

I could do:

 

<?php

//define variables
$moo="blah";

//include moo file
include("moo.php");

?>

 

moo.php would be:

 

<?php

//display content
echo $moo;

?>

 

My worry is, though, that it would not be as efficient as using a function (like, it would increase filesize or something). Is that true?

[WolfRage]

The more includes there will be a slight performance hit, but for the most part your overall parsed file size will be roughly the same. Still I would recommend using arrays and sessions, both will make your job a lot easier, particularly the sessions as you can pass all of that data quickly and efficiently as well as remembering it for use later on in the RPG.

[Cless]

Alright, thanks for your help. :3