php empty object member

Question

I am within a class. I try to set an object member:

$this->list = "hello";
print $this->list;

It returns "hello";

However, empty($this->list)) always return true.

But for non object member $tmp = "hello", empty($tmp) return false.

Why empty() cannot be used on object member?

Update: empty() is influenced by the the my code framework. That is why it does not work properly.

You need to provide some code, are you actually within a class or trying to create an object just through $this->list = 'hello'? Are you getting any error messages? — Kokos
– Kokos, Commented Jul 5, 2011 at 14:29
Cannot reproduce: $s = new stdClass; $s->list = 'Hello'; var_dump($s); /* object(stdClass)#1 (1) { ["list"]=> string(5) "Hello" } */ var_dump(empty($s->list)); /* bool(false) */ — KingCrunch
– KingCrunch, Commented Jul 5, 2011 at 14:33
I used var_dump($this->list). It returns "string(5) hello". But empty($this->list) still return true — chnet
– chnet, Commented Jul 5, 2011 at 14:36

Brad Christie · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-05 14:35:18Z

2

<?php

  class Foo
  {
    var $bar;

    function Bar()
    {
      $this->bar = 'hello';
      echo "In class: " . (empty($this->bar) ? 'empty' : 'populated') . "\r\n";
    }
  }

  $foo = new Foo();
  $foo->Bar();

  echo "Out of class: " . (empty($foo->bar) ? 'empty' : 'populated');

Output:

In class: populated
Out of class: populated

Not sure what you mean. Maybe provide more code? Also, per the empty() manual, the following values are to be considered empty:

"" (an empty string)
0 (0 as an integer)
0.0 (0 as a float) 9 "0" (0 as a string)
NULL
FALSE
array() (an empty array)
var $var; (a variable declared, but without a value in a class)

Also, try using var_dump on the object to confirm it's what you're expecting.

edited Jul 5, 2011 at 14:35

answered Jul 5, 2011 at 14:28

Brad Christie

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3 Comments

chnet Over a year ago

I used var_dump($this->list); empty($this->list); It returns string(5) hello true.

Brad Christie Over a year ago

@chnet: That's interesting, it's got to have somethign else interfering. Just through a basic test (above) there is no issue with testing against object members.

Brad Christie Over a year ago

@chnet: you ever discover the issue?

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