ugly code!

[Pedro Graca]

<?php
function ugly_array() { return array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5); }
$arr = ugly_array();
echo $arr[2];
?>

not so ugly :)


now ... I want to get rid of the $arr temporary variable.

attempts (no more <?php and ?>; one attempt per line)

echo ugly_array()[2]; ## parse error

echo (ugly_array())[2]; ## parse error!

echo ((ugly_array())[2]); ## parse error

echo ({ugly_array()}[2]); ## parse error

echo ugly_array()([2]); ## parse error

echo +(ugly_array())[2]; ## parse error!!!!

echo '-'.(ugly_array() )[2]; ## parse error


and finally ... the ugly code that works

echo implode('', array_slice(ugl y_array(), 2, 1));



What am I missing here?
Can't I get an element of an array returned from a function?

What's so different about the array being named or unnamed?

--
..sig

[Pedro Graca]

Re: ugly code!

I wrote:[color=blue]
><?php
> function ugly_array() { return array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5); }[/color]
[color=blue]
> What am I missing here?
> Can't I get an element of an array returned from a function?
>
> What's so different about the array being named or unnamed?[/color]

tested on Linux:
$ php -v
PHP 4.3.3 (cli) (built: Nov 19 2003 23:12:29)
Copyright (c) 1997-2003 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v1.3.0, Copyright (c) 1998-2003 Zend Technologies

tested on Windows:[color=blue]
> cli\php -v[/color]
PHP 5.0.0-dev (cli) (built: Feb 13 2003 00:14:28)
Copyright (c) 1997-2003 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v2.0.0-dev, Copyright (c) 1998-2003 Zend Technologies

--
..sig

[R. Rajesh Jeba Anbiah]

Re: ugly code!

Pedro Graca <hexkid@hotpop. com> wrote in message news:<bpu9kh$1s 8q62$1@ID-203069.news.uni-berlin.de>...[color=blue]
> <?php
> function ugly_array() { return array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5); }
> $arr = ugly_array();
> echo $arr[2];
> ?>
>
> not so ugly :)
>
>
> now ... I want to get rid of the $arr temporary variable.[/color]

IMO, you can't.

---
"Dying is an art, like everything else"---Sylvia Plath
Email: rrjanbiah-at-Y!com

[Juha Suni]

Re: ugly code!

Pedro Graca wrote:[color=blue]
> <?php
> function ugly_array() { return array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5); }
> $arr = ugly_array();
> echo $arr[2];[color=green]
>>[/color]
>
> not so ugly :)
>
>
> now ... I want to get rid of the $arr temporary variable.
>
> attempts (no more <?php and ?>; one attempt per line)[/color]

snip

how about modifying your function to better suite your needs:

function ugly_array($i = "none") {
$tmparr = array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5);
if ($i == "none") { return $tmparr; }
else { return $tmparr[$i]; }
}

This way the array works just as before if no parameters are given. But
you can also use it like this:

echo ugly_array(2);

HTH

--
Suni

[Pedro Graca]

Re: ugly code!

Juha Suni wrote:[color=blue]
> [...]
> how about modifying your function to better suite your needs:
>
> function ugly_array($i = "none") {
> $tmparr = array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5);
> if ($i == "none") { return $tmparr; }
> else { return $tmparr[$i]; }
> }
>
> This way the array works just as before if no parameters are given. But
> you can also use it like this:
>
> echo ugly_array(2);[/color]

Nice idea :)
Thing is I can't change the function that returns the array (my problem
showed up when using explode()), byt I will try a wrapper:

function my_explode($sep arator, $string, $limit=0, $i=-1) {
if ($limit) {
$tmparray = explode($separa tor, $string, $limit);
} else {
$tmparray = explode($separa tor, $string);
}
if ($i>=0) {
if ($i<count($tmpa rray)) return $tmparray[$i];
else return NULL;
} else {
return $tmparray;
}
}

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--= Content-Type: text/plain =--

[Chung Leong]

Re: ugly code!

A tiny bit less ugly:

echo array_pop(array _slice(ugly_arr ay(), 2, 1));

Pedro Graca <hexkid@hotpop. com> wrote in message news:<bpu9kh$1s 8q62$1@ID-203069.news.uni-berlin.de>...[color=blue]
> <?php
> function ugly_array() { return array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5); }
> $arr = ugly_array();
> echo $arr[2];
> ?>
>
> not so ugly :)
>
>
> now ... I want to get rid of the $arr temporary variable.
>
> attempts (no more <?php and ?>; one attempt per line)
>
> echo ugly_array()[2]; ## parse error
>
> echo (ugly_array())[2]; ## parse error!
>
> echo ((ugly_array())[2]); ## parse error
>
> echo ({ugly_array()}[2]); ## parse error
>
> echo ugly_array()([2]); ## parse error
>
> echo +(ugly_array())[2]; ## parse error!!!!
>
> echo '-'.(ugly_array() )[2]; ## parse error
>
>
> and finally ... the ugly code that works
>
> echo implode('', array_slice(ugl y_array(), 2, 1));
>
>
>
> What am I missing here?
> Can't I get an element of an array returned from a function?
>
> What's so different about the array being named or unnamed?[/color]

[Thomas Mlynarczyk]

Re: ugly code!

I often encounter a similar problem:
A function returns an array and I just need one element from it. It seems
illogical to me that I cannot simply write each($a)[0]. I tried to use {...}
but it doesn't work. Instead I am forced to create a variable to store the
result of each() and then take my element in a separate instruction. Is
there really no way to do this in one step?

Thomas

[Robin Goodall]

Re: ugly code!

Pedro Graca wrote:[color=blue]
> <?php
> function ugly_array() { return array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5); }
> $arr = ugly_array();
> echo $arr[2];
> ?>
>
> not so ugly :)
>
>
> now ... I want to get rid of the $arr temporary variable.[/color]
[snip]

Why not just have your own index function:

function index($arr,$i) { return $arr[$i]; }

(probably with some bounds checking though)

then use:

echo index(ugly_arra y(),2);

Robin

[Pedro Graca]

Re: ugly code!

Robin Goodall wrote:[color=blue]
> Why not just have your own index function:
>
> function index($arr,$i) { return $arr[$i]; }
>
> (probably with some bounds checking though)
>
> then use:
>
> echo index(ugly_arra y(),2);[/color]

Great! Thank you Robin

<?php
function index(&$arr, $i) { return $arr[$i]; }
function ugly_array() { return array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5); }

echo index(ugly_arra y(), 2);
// not as "beautiful" as ugly_array()[2] but nearly so :)
?>

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[Shawn Wilson]

Re: ugly code!

Robin Goodall wrote:[color=blue]
>
> Pedro Graca wrote:[color=green]
> > <?php
> > function ugly_array() { return array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5); }
> > $arr = ugly_array();
> > echo $arr[2];
> > ?>
> >
> > not so ugly :)
> >
> >
> > now ... I want to get rid of the $arr temporary variable.[/color]
> [snip]
>
> Why not just have your own index function:
>
> function index($arr,$i) { return $arr[$i]; }
>
> (probably with some bounds checking though)
>
> then use:
>
> echo index(ugly_arra y(),2);[/color]

That's pretty. Never though of it.

Thanks,
Shawn

--
Shawn Wilson
shawn@glassgian t.com

http://www.glassgiant.com