passing variables outside of functions php

I have a function that che开发者_JS百科cks form validation. If there is an error then there is a variable called $error. How do I make it so outside of this function and the rest of this page regardless of inside of a function or not, know that $error is set?

I don't want it to carry over to another page though. I know there is global but since I am initiating the $error in a function I guess it is not available in other functions.

Any ideas?

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I would make it this way
function validate($form, &$errors)
{
// some code that sets the erros variable
return false;
}

Since $erros is passed by reference, the function can set it's value. But the variable itself remains in the scope of the calling code.

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If you want to set and use a global variable via the superglobal $GLOBALS array ^{PHP Manual}:

$GLOBALS['error'] = value;

That array is available everywhere. So take care.

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I have a form class with a static variable inside of it that logs errors. For example:

<?php
class form {
  //this is our array to hold fields that have errored so we can apply an error class to the input fields
  static public $errors = array();
  static public function setError($error) {
    self::$errors[] = $error;
  }
  static public function parseErrors() {
    $output .= '<ul>';
    foreach(self::$errors as $message) {
      $output .= '<li>'.$message.'</li>';
    }
    $output .= '</ul>';
    return $output;
  }
  //... other functions
}
?>

Then to log errors from within your validation functions, you can do something like this:

<?php
function myvalidate($value) {
  // if this validation fails
  form::setError('Field is required');
}
?>

Then just call the parseErrors to spit out your errors. Please note these are just snippets. I actually have a logger class that interacts with the form class, changed it up some for consolidation.

I prefer doing things like this than using GLOBALS, it can get messy really quick using GLOBALS or the SESSION for that matter, which is another option.

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I'd rather return it, and checks its count() (I usually put errors in array). If it's > 0 then there are errors, otherwise there are no.