Creating PHP function with dynamic variable

Question

Im not sure how best to phrase this, and I am a newbie, but basically I was wondering if its possible to create a function that has a dynamic variable in the code that is executed. For instance:

function getData($array)
{
    $result = mysqli_query($con, $query) or die(mysqli_error($con));                        
    $array = array();
    while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)){
        $array[] = $row;
    }   
}

$query = "SELECT name FROM color ORDER BY name";
getData ($color_array);
$arrayCount = count($color_array);

So $array is the value i would like to be able to change each time i run the function against a new query. For instance after the above I could do:

$query = "SELECT name FROM size ORDER BY name";
getData ($size_array);
$arrayCount = count($size_array);

I guess a placeholder may be a better description of what I'm looking to use.

Cheers

Alan Rezende · Accepted Answer · 2015-11-12 18:20:43Z

2

I think the best way would be to go on like this:

function getData($query, $con)
{
    $result = mysqli_query($con, $query) or die(mysqli_error($con));                        
    $array = array();
    while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)){
        $array[] = $row;
    }
    return $array;
}

$query = "SELECT name FROM color ORDER BY name";
$color_array = getData ($query, $con);
$arrayCount = count($color_array);

$query = "SELECT name FROM size ORDER BY name";
$size_array = getData ($query, $con);
$arrayCount = count($size_array);

Here you are sending to the function the query and the connection to use, and when you execute that function you save it in a var with the names you want, then you can do whatever you like with the value.

answered Nov 12, 2015 at 18:20

Alan Rezende

3782 silver badges11 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

2 Comments

Sammitch Over a year ago

This. You generally want to avoid using references because: 1. References are not pointers. 2. PHP's memory management internals are quite well developed. 3. References are a great way to make your code break in ways that are very difficult to track down.

Zeb Over a year ago

Thank you, this has solved the issue for me and cleared up where my thinking was wrong.

ventaquil · Accepted Answer · 2015-11-12 18:19:25Z

1

You must use & operator. More here http://php.net/manual/en/language.references.pass.php

answered Nov 12, 2015 at 18:19

ventaquil

2,8584 gold badges25 silver badges52 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Creating PHP function with dynamic variable

2 Answers 2

2 Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

2 Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related