Hey all, I checked google but couldn't find what I was looking for.

I was wondering how to check a variable for 2 possibilities.
etc, if($variable = 'Bottom' or 'Top'){

Whats the right syntax use?
Thanks

if($variable == 'bottom' || $variable == 'top')

or

PHP Code:

switch($variable){
  case 'bottom':
    //do something
    break;
  case 'top':
    //do something else
    break;
  case 'center':
  case 'middle':
    //The 2 values goes for that part here
    break;
  default:
    //if nothing matches, the code in here goes
    break;
} 


I found a case statement to be more flexible than if/elseif/else in term of readability.

Originally Posted by lothop

Hey all, I checked google but couldn't find what I was looking for.

I was wondering how to check a variable for 2 possibilities.
etc, if($variable = 'Bottom' or 'Top'){

Whats the right syntax use?
Thanks

I always like to use the function in_array() for checking multiple values:

PHP Code:

if (in_array($needle, array('value1', 'value2', 'value3'))) . . . 


Is there and benefit of difference between the 2 ways?

I have found the most effective way
if (in_array($needle, array('value1', 'value2', 'value3')))

Thankyou for you input, just mgraphics way looks cleaner and simpler.

if($variable == 'bottom' || $variable == 'top')
looks basic because you are having to always put $variable in there again and again.

Personal Preference/OCD's

in_array allows more optimization by the parser I'd think (in other words, it might be more efficient), but ultimately it comes down to personal preference as Decaf said. Also, it depends what you want to do. the using 'case' allows you to different things depending on the value of your variable. using in_array allows you to do the same thing as long as the value of your variable is any of the elements in the array.