Search code examples
phpoptimizationnull-coalescing-operator

Coalesce function for PHP?

Many programming languages have a coalesce function (returns the first non-NULL value, example). PHP, sadly in 2009, does not.

What would be a good way to implement one in PHP until PHP itself gets a coalesce function?

Solution

  • PHP 7 introduced a real coalesce operator:

    echo $_GET['doesNotExist'] ?? 'fallback'; // prints 'fallback'

    If the value before the ?? does not exists or is null the value after the ?? is taken.

    The improvement over the mentioned ?: operator is, that the ?? also handles undefined variables without throwing an E_NOTICE.