[Chris O'Brien]

This will be an easy question, but I'm having no luck figuring it out (after the whole 5 minutes I've spent - patience isn't one of my virtues ). Basically, if I have a user defined variable that isn't set, I just want to provide a default value. Make sense?

In javascript, I'd just use something like:

Code:
function whatever(arg1, arg2) {

    var something = arg1 || "chris";
    var something_else = arg2 || "topher";

}

With this PHP, it's just $_GET variable i'm using, so, although it's a different scope, I wouldn't've imagined it to be difficult. I initially thought using
[php]
$al = $_GET['something'] || "hi";
[/php]

might work, but it doesn't. What does PHP default $_GET variables to if they aren't present? I had presumed something like
[php]
if (is_null($_GET['something'])) {
$al = "hi";
} else {
$al = $_GET['something'];
}
//or use !is_string()...
[/php]
would work, but even though it does to an extent, i still get the PHP error 'undefined index'.

Anyway, there must be an obvious thing I'm missing here, as this seems very easy.

Cheers for any help

[Chris O'Brien]

Sorry! me == idiot.

Just remembered isset() and it works.

Anyway - is there a more elegant way of going about this?

[Diggory Laycock]

if by more elegant - you mean smaller:

[php]$something = ( isset($GET["something"]) ? $GET["something"] : 'default something' );[/php]

[Chris O'Brien]

Ah - I didn't know PHP supported that syntax. I use it all the time in javascript - I suppose i should've just given it a try.

Thanks very much.