Array Question: brackets within brackets syntax

[ChenXiu]

Arrays use brackets. What is the syntax if I wanted a bracketed variable inside brackets?

For example "https://www.example.com/index.php?animal=horse" has this $_GET variable:
$_GET["animal"]

Security vulnerabilities notwithstanding, the following syntax does not work:
echo $_SESSION[$_GET["animal"]];

I assume it does not work because it's a bracketed variable inside brackets.

What syntax makes this work?

Thank you!

[kicken]

5 minutes ago, ChenXiu said:

the following syntax does not work

That syntax works just fine.  Why do you think it doesn't?

 

[ginerjm]

Quote

Quote

 

 

Cause $_GET is NOT an element of $_SESSION

[Phi11W]

1 hour ago, ginerjm said:

Cause $_GET is NOT an element of $_SESSION

Think about how PHP works. 

The echo statement displays the result of an Expression. 

Expressions can be nested inside one another, so ... 

echo 1 + ( 2 + ( 3 * 4 ) ); 

... returns 15 (3 times 4, plus the 2, plus the 1). 

In your case, you have the same sort of nesting.  

echo $_SESSION[ $_GET["animal"] ];

First, PHP works out the value of $_GET[ "animal"], and then uses that to index into $_SESSION, and then echo's out the result of that.   
PHP expressions can be nested to almost any level, limited only by PHP's internal constraints and, more importantly, your own Sanity, when you come to try and read what you've created, even just a few days later!

You probably want to do some validation on the QueryString value (of "animal") being submitted, because it could be absolutely anything!  (Trust nothing that comes from the Client.)

Regards,
   Phill  W.

 

[ginerjm]

I blew my answer.  Should have drank a bit more coffee