Associative arrays: Arrays having named keys. But, if the variable is not null and empty, it returns a true value. To create a variable you always have to assign something to it. It means that the left operand gets set to the value of the assignment expression on the right. PHP Assignment Operators. A variable is considered empty if it does not exist or if its value equals FALSE.. Let's try out the following example to understand how this function basically works: Multidimensional arrays: It contains one or more array in particular array. Here we will learn what is an empty function and how to use this function. I am trying to make sure that 2 fields are filled before I insert them into my database. Arrays in PHP: Use array() Function to create an array in PHP. Since a variable must have some value and PHP's value for "nothing" is null, you want: Again if you pass multiple variables to the PHP isset function, then if all the variables are not null, the function returns a true value. empty() function in PHP. Code language: PHP (php) Determine if a variable is set and is not NULL.. PHP variables get initialised when they're first assigned to. Seems like folks are complicating this a bit. The function returns a boolean value as the result of the output of the function. I'm pretty sure it's really simple . How to check whether a variable is empty in PHP. On the other hand, if you don’t have access to the php.ini file, and you're using the Apache web server, you could also set this variable using the .htaccess file. Passing variables with data between pages using URL There are different ways by which values of variables can be passed between pages.One of the ways is to use the URL to pass the values or data. PHP doesn't have an explicit statement to initialise variables, like Javascript's var. PHP has multiple functions used to check PHP variables with respect to their initialized values. Note: Why it is always good practice to declare an empty array and then push the items to that array? It's a design choice, for better or worse. There are three types of array supported in PHP: Indexed arrays: Arrays having a numeric index. Obviously I want all of those variables to be checked if they are empty or not. These functions are, isset() is to check if a variable is set with a value. empty() is to check if a given variable is empty. If a variable has been unset with unset(), it will no longer be set. using "empty" with multiple variables. Here the biggest advantage is we can pass data to a different site even running at different servers. The difference with isset() is, isset has NULL check enabled. ""I would like to display some html code if a variable is not empty, else I would like to display nothing. You can use the PHP empty() function to find out whether a variable is empty or not. Back to the original question, " ... if variable is not empty, echo some html code. Determine whether a variable is considered to be empty. empty() does not generate a warning if the variable does not exist. Basically, empty() function can be used to check a variable is empty or not in PHP. A variable is considered empty if it does not exist or if its value equals false. The basic assignment operator in PHP is "=". The PHP assignment operators are used with numeric values to write a value to a variable. I did a quick Google and found that checking if the variables are null wouldn't be the correct way of solving this situation because an "empty string" is still not null? Anyway, any help would be appreciated. Topic: PHP / MySQL Prev|Next Answer: Use the PHP empty() function. php_value session.auto_start 1 If you add the above line in the .htaccess file, that should start a session automatically in your PHP application.