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PHP PHP Functions Function Returns and More PHP Variable Functions

Miguel Nunez
Miguel Nunez
3,266 Points

What is var in php?

I heard this was for older versions of php and was replaced later in php 5 is that true? And what was this designed for and does it work with php 5?

1 Answer

lloan alas
lloan alas
17,774 Points

Hey Miguel Nunez - interesting question.

I refer to stackoverflow a lot - so here is a link if you want to read up on it here - but the gist of it:

It's for declaring class member variables in PHP4, and is no longer needed. It will work in PHP5, but will raise an E_STRICT warning in PHP from version 5.0.0 up to version 5.1.2, as of when it was deprecated. Since PHP 5.3, var has been un-deprecated and is a synonym for 'public'.

Example usage:

class foo {
    var $x = 'y'; // or you can use public like...
    public $x = 'y'; //this is also a class member variables.
    function bar() {
    }
}

And from the PHP manual here

Note: The PHP 4 method of declaring a variable with the var keyword is still supported for compatibility reasons (as a synonym for the public keyword). In PHP 5 before 5.1.3, its usage would generate an E_STRICT warning.