Posted by shimmyshack on 02/27/07 01:03

On 27 Feb, 00:22, "rog" <jk!ttop5@mnpX$.net> wrote:
> Hello Matt,
> Excuse me, but that's the weirdest looking PHP syntax I've ever seen!
> How do you know that???
> I use the { } occasionally and was looking for it in the PHP docs to see if
> I could use it here. I can't find it in the docs at all. Is {} an
> operator?
> Anyway...Thanks!!
> Roger
>
> "shimmyshack" <matt.fa...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:1172523882.320703.317550@8g2000cwh.googlegroups.com...
>
> > On 26 Feb, 20:55, "rog" <jk!ttop5@mnpX$.net> wrote:
> >> Sorry, that should read:
>
> >> for($x=1;$x<=3;$x++)
> >> {
> >> $str='$unit' . $x
> >> echo eval($str);
>
> >> }
>
> >> Still doesn't work.
>
> >> Roger
>
> >> "rog" <jk!ttop5@mnpX$.net> wrote in message
>
> >>news:b56dnVxMKbsi1X7YnZ2dnUVZ_vmqnZ2d@comcast.com...
>
> >> >I have some variables, $unit1, $unit2 and $unit3, that I would like to
> >> >read from a loop like this (or any other way):
>
> >> > for($x=1;$x<=3;$x++)
> >> > {
> >> > $str='unit' . $x
> >> > echo eval($str);
> >> > }
>
> >> > The debugger shows $str as '$unit1' but eval() gives a parse error.
> >> > Can someone give a tip?
>
> >> > Thanks,
> >> > Roger
>
> > you could do this:
>
> > <?php
> > $unit1 = '123';
> > $unit2 = '231';
> > $unit3 = '321';
>
> > for($x=1;$x<=3;$x++)
> > {
> > echo ${'unit' . $x} . "\n<br />";
> > }
> > ?>

norms way is nicer because it forces the String type,
the syntax is interesting isnt it, and has different uses based on
contxt.
for instance
$string = 'rog';
echo $string{2} would output g
whereas
echo {$string} would

What you are doing is called a "variable variable" $$, you can find it
under that in the php docs. There's an example more or less equal to
your problem entered at 18-Oct-2002 in the manual.
It isnt limited to one layer so it has a multitude of uses, (if you
can figure them out!)
$confusing = 'hi';
$hi = 'there';
$there = 'this';
$this = 'is';
$is = 'confusing!';
echo $$$$$confusing; //confusing!
(I made that more confusing by making it ciruclar I could have had $$$$
$start with $start='there')

Also check the manual under complex (curly) syntax

Don't worry about seeing things for the first time, I admit after
nearly 5 years of php programming I only realised the other day that
you could have multiple arguments in an echo statement,
echo 'hi! :' , ' like' , ', this';
I felt a bit humbled for that gap! (this forum I think)

[Back to original message]