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Last updated: Fri, 20 Jun 2008

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constant

(PHP 4 >= 4.0.4, PHP 5)

constant — Retourne la valeur d'une constante

Description

mixed constant ( string $name )

Retourne la valeur de la constante name .

constant() est pratique lorsque vous devez lire la valeur d'une constante, mais que vous ne connaissez son nom que durant l'exécution du script. Par exemple, ce nom peut être le résultat d'une fonction.

Cette fonction fonctionne également avec les constantes de classe.

Liste de paramètres

name

Le nom de la constante.

Valeurs de retour

Retourne la valeur de la constante, ou NULL si la constante n'est pas définie.

Exemples

Exemple #1 Exemple avec constant()

<?php

define
("MAXSIZE"100);

echo 
MAXSIZE;
echo 
constant("MAXSIZE"); // identique à la ligne précédente


interface bar {
    const 
test 'foobar!';
}

class 
foo {
    const 
test 'foobar!';
}

$const 'test';

var_dump(constant('bar::'$const)); // string(7) "foobar!"
var_dump(constant('foo::'$const)); // string(7) "foobar!"

?>

Voir aussi



define> <connection_timeout
Last updated: Fri, 20 Jun 2008
 
add a note add a note User Contributed Notes
constant
Joachim Chmielewski
15-Feb-2008 03:34
To use constants in functions additional its not neccessary to change the function call wherever you need the constant in a function.

   foo($var1);

to

    foo($var1,$const);

More easy is to change the function definition and use a default value for a new variable that contains the const value.

   function foo($var1,$my_const=CONST_VALUE){
          if($my_const==1) dosomething();
   }

Now it`s not necessary to change the function call wherever you need the function.
vgr at europeanexperts dot org
01-Mar-2007 05:57
in reply to anonymous

[quote]
To check if a constant is boolean, use this instead:

<?php
if (TRACE === true)  {}
?>

Much quicker and cleaner than using defined() and constant() to check for a simple boolean.
[/quote]

is definitely nor cleaner (because it's still as wrong as using simply "if (TRACE)") nor quicker than " if (TRACE)" (one more comparison on a boolean value). This will generate PHP errors. The constant TRACE is NOT defined.

error :
PHP Notice:  Use of undefined constant TRACE - assumed 'TRACE' in yourpath/test_constants.php on line 5

if you really want to be "clean" and as quick as possible, then there is a function :

[code]
function IsBooleanConstantAndTrue($constname) { // : Boolean
  $res=FALSE;
  if (defined($constname)) $res=(constant($constname)===TRUE);
  return($res);
}

// use : if (IsBooleanConstantAndTrue('TRACE')) echo "trace is really True<br>";
[/code]

If you want, you can see a demonstration at http://www.fecj.org/extra/test_constants.php

Regards
01-Feb-2007 08:29
@XC:

That isn't necessary. If a constant is undefined, constant() returns NULL; simply suppressing the warning should be enough:

<?php

if(defined('FOO') && constant('FOO') === 'bar'){
// ...
}

?>

becomes

<?php

if(@constant('FOO') === 'bar') {
// ...
}

?>

Note that in the first snippet, the call to constant isn't unnecessary as well, and adds a bit of overhead. If you're set on using the first notation, the following is better:

<?php

if(defined('FOO') && FOO === 'bar') {
// ...
}

?>
XC
19-Jan-2007 02:13
When you often write lines like

<?php

if(defined('FOO') && constant('FOO') === 'bar')
{
...
}

?>

to prevent errors, you can use the following function to get the value of a constant.

<?php

function getconst($const)
{
    return (
defined($const)) ? constant($const) : null;
}

?>

Finally you can check the value with

<?php

if(getconst('FOO') === 'bar')
{
...
}

?>

It's simply shorter.
03-Oct-2006 05:17
If the constant does not exist, constant() will generate a warning and return null.
narada dot sage at googlemail dot com
13-Jul-2006 06:01
To access the value of a class constant use the following technique.

<?php

class a {
    const
b = 'c';
}

echo
constant('a::b');

// output: c

?>
service at dual-creators dot de
16-May-2006 10:00
It's easily to user constant() and define() to translate some words from your database-saves.

For example:
You have a table userprofil and one coloumn is "gender".
Gender can be male or female but you will display "maennlich" or "weiblich" (german words for it - whatever...)

First step: Fetch into $Gender

Second:
define("male", "maennlich");
define("female", "weiblich");

Third:
echo constant($Gender);

Now, the index of the variable $Gender will be handled like a constant!

(It works like "echo male;" for better understanding)

And a result of this, it displays maennlich btw. weiblich!

greetz
Trevor Blackbird > yurab.com
18-Apr-2006 02:58
Technically you can define constants with names that are not valid for variables:

<?php

// $3some is not a valid variable name
// This will not work
$3some = 'invalid';

// This works
define('3some', 'valid');
echo
constant('3some');

?>

Of course this is not a good practice, but PHP has got you covered.
timneill at hotmail dot com
26-Nov-2005 12:39
Please note when using this function from within a class to retrieve a php5 class constant, ensure you include the 'self::'.

class Validate
{
    const TEXT_MAX = 65536;
   
    //-- this will work
    public static function textWORKS($_value, $_type = 'TEXT')
    {
        $_max = constant('self::' . $_type . '_MAX');
        return (strlen($_value) <= $_max ? true : false);
    }
   
    //-- this will fail
    public static function textFAILS($_value, $_type = 'TEXT')
    {
        //-- Debug Warning: constant(): Couldn't find constant TEXT_MAX
        $_max = constant($_type . '_MAX');
        return (strlen($_value) <= $_max ? true : false);
    }
}
11-Oct-2005 07:20
In reply to VGR_experts_exchange at edainworks dot com

To check if a constant is boolean, use this instead:

<?php
if (TRACE === true)  {}
?>

Much quicker and cleaner than using defined() and constant() to check for a simple boolean.

IMO, using ($var === true) or ($var === false) instead of ($var) or (!$var) is the best way to check for booleans no matter what. Leaves no chance of ambiguity.
Joachim Kruyswijk
13-Nov-2004 09:12
The constant name can be an empty string.

Code:

define("", "foo");
echo constant("");

Output:

foo
VGR_experts_exchange at edainworks dot com
19-Sep-2003 05:32
Hello. This applies to constants being defined as Boolean values, and may-be applies generally.

I advise you to NOT use this in an included file, in a function or elsewhere outside the scope where the define('TRACE',TRUE) is placed) :

if (TRACE) {}

This will always evaluate to TRUE if the constant is not defined previously (the story about this becoming an string 'TRACE', thus evaluating to TRUE)

Use this :

<?php
if ((defined('TRACE'))AND(constant('TRACE')))  {}
?>
Andre
27-Apr-2003 01:10
Maybe this is useful:

$file_ext is the file Extension of the image

<?php
if ( imagetypes() & @constant('IMG_' . strtoupper($file_ext)) )
{
   
$file_ext = $file_ext == 'jpg' ? 'jpeg' : $file_ext;
   
$create_func = 'ImageCreateFrom' . $file_ext;
}
?>

define> <connection_timeout
Last updated: Fri, 20 Jun 2008
 
 
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