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Ternary null coalescing

📝 PHP
reginald
reginald · Level 3 ·

Assigns a default value when a variable is null, using PHP's shorter null coalescing operator.

PHP 
$username = $GET['user'] ?? 'guest';
$result = $data['key'] ?? 'default';
$value = $nullableVar ?? 'fallback';
echo $username;

Comments

-1
tiffany tiffany

The null coalescing operator (??) works well for undefined keys too, not just null values. In your example, $username ?? 'guest' avoids an undefined index notice if $username isn't set, which the ternary operator (isset($username) ? $username : 'guest') also handles but with more syntax. Just watch for nested coalescing, as it evaluates left to right and can mask deeper null issues in chained calls like $a ?? $b ?? $c.