(PHP 4, PHP 5)
empty — Determine whether a variable is empty
Variable to be checked
Note: empty() only checks variables as anything else will result in a parse error. In other words, the following will not work: empty(trim($name)).
empty() is the opposite of (boolean) var, except that no warning is generated when the variable is not set.
Returns FALSE if var has a non-empty and non-zero value.
The following things are considered to be empty:
| Version | Description |
|---|---|
| PHP 5 |
As of PHP 5, objects with no properties are no longer considered empty. |
Example #1 A simple empty() / isset() comparison.
<?php
$var = 0;
// Evaluates to true because $var is empty
if (empty($var)) {
echo '$var is either 0, empty, or not set at all';
}
// Evaluates as true because $var is set
if (isset($var)) {
echo '$var is set even though it is empty';
}
?>
Note: Because this is a language construct and not a function, it cannot be called using variable functions
Note: When using empty() on inaccessible object properties, the __isset overloading method will be called, if declared.