Checking if $_POST variable is populated

Question

Possible Duplicate:
Check if $_POST exists

I'm trying to run something if and only if a $_POST var is populated.

Can I do if(empty($_POST[...])) { ... }? Or should I go about this another way?

What do you mean by "populated"? If `$_POST['key']` contains an empty string, is it populated or not? — GodsBoss, May 07 '11 at 19:33
i would use if(isset($_POST['uid']) && isset($_POST['authtoken']) && !empty($_POST['uid'])&& !empty($_POST['authtoken'])){ } — Ayush P Gupta, Apr 11 '18 at 16:08

score 23 · Accepted Answer · answered May 07 '11 at 19:28

23

I'd do if(isset($_POST['key'])) { ... }

answered May 07 '11 at 19:28

Rifat

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if $_POST['key'] is present without a value it returns true which is not always what you want. – Shahid Sarwar Jun 14 '17 at 16:24

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered May 07 '11 at 19:29

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No, empty() is not the right way of doing it. You have to use isset().

Why? Because many things are considered empty which you probably don't want to miss!

The following things are considered to be empty:

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

See the manual!

answered May 07 '11 at 19:29

markus

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Only the string type can be present in the input arrays. – mario May 07 '11 at 19:40

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered May 07 '11 at 19:24

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You can check $_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] wether it is POST or something else. See $_SERVER.

Ooops, I totally misread your question. Do you want to test for a specific entry in $_POST? Then use array_key_exists($key, $_POST).

answered May 07 '11 at 19:24

GodsBoss

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Perfect for use inside a loop! :) – Danny Beckett Mar 03 '18 at 18:42

Checking if $_POST variable is populated

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