echoing a varible shows the name of the variable

[kanuski]

Greetings,

I am using a drop-down menu to pass a variable, $clid with a value of '1', to the next page. When I echo it on the next page it prints $clid instead of '1'.

<? echo "CLID: $clid"; ?>

This prints

CLID: $clid

 

  The drop-down menu is in a separate txt file and works everywhere else on my site. All the other variables are working great. What could cause this kind of problem?

 

<?

$query3 = "select * from classrooms

where tid LIKE '$uid'";

$result3 = mysql_query ($query3);

$num_rows3 = mysql_num_rows($result3);

if ($data3 = mysql_fetch_array($result3))

{

echo "<SELECT name='clid' style='background-color : #a8b6e2; border-bottom-color : #677c8f; border-left-color : #677c8f; border-right-color : #677c8f; border-top-color : #677c8f;'>";

$count="0";

do

{

$clid1=$data3[0];

$classcode1=$data3[2];

 

echo "<option value='$clid1'>$classcode1</option>";

$count=$count+1;

} while($data3 = mysql_fetch_array($result3));

echo "</SELECT>";

$classrooms="yup";

}

if($num_rows3<1) { echo "<em>No classrooms created.</em>"; $classrooms="nope"; }

 

?>

 

 

[PHP_PhREEEk]

I'm not a fan of shutting php off and on a zillion times while outputting HTML, but...

 

have you tried:

 

<?php echo "CLID: $clid"; ?>

 

you might need the long tag form...

 

PhREEEk

[kanuski]

Thanks, that isn't working either.

The code I am using is actually part of a much larger section. The only reason I want to print it is to see why it is not working. I am storing this data in a database and this variable is always showing up as 0. The others work great.

echo "CLID: $clid <br>month: $month<br>mo_num: $mo_num<br>day_num: $day_num<br>";

Somehow the value of $clid is becoming $clid.

 

 

[PHP_PhREEEk]

The only thing I can think of is somewhere, somehow $clid is accidentally defined as a string that contains literally $clid.

 

Right before that echo, do this and post back the output:

 

var_dump($clid);
die();

 

PhREEEk

[kanuski]

I get

string(5) "$clid"

[PHP_PhREEEk]

yep.. that's it then... it's being defined somewhere else before you get to the echo.

 

PhREEEk

[kanuski]

Thanks,

I found it and feel like an idiot.

[PHP_PhREEEk]

cool = ))

 

yah, sometimes just echoing things out doesn't help... using var_dump and print_r for arrays is essential to get to the deeper issue. They're excellent troubleshooting tools. Don't feel like an idiot. You just learned something you will use a zillion times now, and start finding your problems without asking and having to wait for help. Good luck man

 

PhREEEk