Initialize variables?

[Azu]

If my code is running fine without initializing variables, should I just leave it as is, or is there a benefit to initializing them?

 

Also, which way is best to initialize? $a=$b=$c=''; or $a='';$b='';$c=''? Or is there a better way then both of these?

[The Little Guy]

The best way would be to do this:

 

$a='';$b='';$c='';

 

you don't need to initialize variables in php, but sometimes it is a good thing to do, such as if you were making a loop, then it would always be good to set it to a start point.

[GingerRobot]

I only do this to avoid undefined variable notices - whilst most people run php with error reporting set to ignore notices, i think it's good practice to make your code more compatible. It also seems cleaner to me.

[pocobueno1388]

Initializing your variables first will also speed up your script a little.

[Azu]

Initializing your variables first will also speed up your script a little.

Thanks! Is it better to initialize all variables at the very start of the script, or right before they are going to be used?

[kratsg]

The best programming practice, I personally believe is to define ALL my variables at the top of the script like so:

 

$username = '';//this will hold the username for the current user
$site_to_check = '';//this will hold the page the user was just one
$ip_address = '';//this holds the true/false statement if the user's ip address was banned or not

 

So I look at the top of my script, see all the variables, and I can almost always recognize what page I'm looking at or what each variable is meant to hold... Cause I often have those memory lapses where I forget everything I coded that night and such and such :-P