PHP: re-declaring $_GET and $_POST in script

Question

In risk of sparking an opinionated discussion I ask the following:

Is it considered bad practice to re-declare $_POST and $_GET variables inside a PHP script?

I.e.

$_POST['var'] = 'someValue';
$_GET['var'] = '';

The reason is emptying variables on certain instances and thus avoiding reloading page and risk of sending headers multiple times.

The question would be what are you doing wrong to warrant changing the values of globals in your script. — adeneo
– adeneo, Commented Apr 7, 2013 at 19:40
If you "need" to do this, then there's probably a bigger issue elsewhere... — Oliver Charlesworth
– Oliver Charlesworth, Commented Apr 7, 2013 at 19:41
How come an emptying variable would help to avoid risk of sending headers multiple times? — Your Common Sense
– Your Common Sense, Commented Apr 7, 2013 at 19:42

jakobhans · Accepted Answer · 2013-04-07 19:42:29Z

1

Yes, it's bad practice. You can achieve what you need maybe with a hidden input which gets a certain value in the event you want to ignore the $_GET or $_POST variables.

answered Apr 7, 2013 at 19:42

jakobhans

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1 Comment

adeneo Over a year ago

+1, I often do this myself, and it's also how Wordpress often solves this issue, so it's not a bad option.

Bart Friederichs · Accepted Answer · 2013-04-07 19:41:05Z

0

Yes it is bad practice, because it changes what others are expecting of these variables.

Debugging can become quite a hell if you start doing this kind of stuff.

answered Apr 7, 2013 at 19:41

Bart Friederichs

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Comments

christopher · Accepted Answer · 2013-04-07 19:43:27Z

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The reason is emptying variables on certain instances and thus avoiding reloading page and risk of sending headers multiple times.

There is a pattern called the PRG Pattern which has been made to avoid the re submission of data on page reloads.

answered Apr 7, 2013 at 19:43

christopher

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1 Comment

Oliver Charlesworth Over a year ago

What does PRG have to do with manually modifying superglobals?

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