Variable name inside name of another variable

Question

I am trying to do something like htis

foreach ($_POST as $key => $value)
    {
    $newNode->field_$key['und'][0]['value'] = $value;
    }

php complains of Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_VARIABLE

I tried

foreach ($_POST as $key => $value)
    {
    $newNode->field_{$key}['und'][0]['value'] = $value;
    }

But then key is output as an array. Not sure why.

Any tips?

Furicane · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-06 19:29:27Z

8

If I may suggest an alternative approach - which is to use an array. You shouldn't try to dynamically create variable names. For that purpose, good engineers from a long, long time ago in a year far far away invented an array.

So, to solve your problems from now and the whole eternity - rewrite your code to use:

$newNode->field[$key]['und'][0]['value'] = $value;

answered Oct 6, 2011 at 19:29

Furicane

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4 Comments

BoltClock Over a year ago

+1 Exactly. Arrays are already in copious use anyway, so adding another dimension wouldn't hurt.

Levi Morrison Over a year ago

This is not entirely true, as there are valid use-cases for dynamically accessing properties. Late static binding makes a host of well-built applications possible in php 5.3. Don't misconstrue this statement though; usually an array would be appropriate.

Levi Morrison Over a year ago

Also, if you are indexing that many things at once, you should probably think about what you are doing and add some classes as appropriate.

giorgio79 Over a year ago

Thanks for the tip, unfortunately my hands are tied on this one as I am working with Drupal that uses this notation for fields, here is an example: timonweb.com/comment/4751

Pekka · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-06 19:29:04Z

6

The correct notation would be

$newNode->{"field_".$key}

that should work. But as @Furicane says, arrays are vastly better for this.

answered Oct 6, 2011 at 19:29

Pekka

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1 Comment

giorgio79 Over a year ago

Thanks, this is a winner. I will mark it as such when 4 minutes expired. :)

rrehbein · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-06 19:34:08Z

1

Try using a variable for the full property name.

foreach ($_POST as $key => $value)
{
    $fieldName = "field_{$key}";
    $newNode->{$fieldName}['und'][0]['value'] = $value;
}

answered Oct 6, 2011 at 19:34

rrehbein

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1 Comment

giorgio79 Over a year ago

Thanbks this is a winner as well. Pekka's solution was posted before this, so I will mark that as correct.

usoban · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-06 19:27:54Z

0

variable name (and also object property) cannot have $ in name.

To get this working, read about getters and setters with __get and __set

answered Oct 6, 2011 at 19:27

usoban

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1 Comment

giorgio79 Over a year ago

Thanks for the comment, will read up on this. Pekka's solution works so I went with that for now.

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