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PHP : Function Reference : Miscellaneous Functions : define

define

Defines a named constant (PHP 4, PHP 5)
bool define ( string name, mixed value [, bool case_insensitive] )

Example 1352. Defining Constants

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<?php
define("CONSTANT", "Hello world.");
echo CONSTANT; // outputs "Hello world."
echo Constant; // outputs "Constant" and issues a notice.

define("GREETING", "Hello you.", true);
echo GREETING; // outputs "Hello you."
echo Greeting; // outputs "Hello you."

?>

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Code Examples / Notes » define

ik
[Editor's Note: Obviously, constants cannot be redefined. That is the meaning of a constant.]
Just a quick note.. If a constant is once defined, any subsequent attempts to define it once again are ignored.
<?
define('WHAT_DID_YOU_EXPECT', 'First');
define('WHAT_DID_YOU_EXPECT', 'Second');
echo WHAT_DID_YOU_EXPECT
?>
Outputs 'First'.
I really thought I have gone mad when I saw just the last two lines of code (the first one was in another file) and it was echoing 'First'..

radovan dot biciste
Wonder how to work with variable which name is stored in a constant?
Here it is:
<?php
define("VAR_NAME","test");
// assigning value
${VAR_NAME} = "value";
// getting value back
echo ${VAR_NAME};
?>

john dot navratil
Without really thinking, it is an easy assumption (especially for C coders) that defined constants are available after their lexical presence in a script.  It is, of course, temporally after the execution of the define statement.
All us knuckle-dragging C programmers may be tempted to write:
<?php
myEcho("Hello, world");
define ("OUTPUT_FILE", "/tmp/asdf");
function myEcho($msg) {
 $f = fopen(OUTPUT_FILE, "a");
 fwrite($f, $msg."\n");
 fclose($f);
}
?>
and expect OUTPUT_FILE to be defined.  What you get is " Use of undefined constant OUTPUT_FILE - assumed 'OUTPUT_FILE' " because the 'define()' *FUNCTION* had not been called before its implicit use by myEcho().
Programming is always easier when one thinks, don't you think?

nl-x
Watch out. You can define a new constant with the name NULL with define("NULL","FOO");. But you must use the function constant("NULL"); to get it's value. NULL without the function call to the constant() function will still retrieve the special type NULL value.
Within a class there is no problem, as const NULL="Foo"; will be accessible as myClass::NULL.

ste
To use a constant to show an element of an array inside a string:
define ('C', 0); print ("element 0: {$a[C]}");
The { & } around the variable signals that what's inside should be treated as a variable and not a string.
Note that 'print ("a constant:{C}");' wont work as ZERO is a constant.

anonymous
Note to the editor:
If it is so "obvious" that constants can't be redefined, then at least a warning should be issued if you try to redefine it.

rayro
just a note to the previous post by e s lin d sey at g mail dot co m:
Well as u said, it is not the best workaround. To resolve this "Problem" without getting incredible loss of performance, you are able to make the use of "variable functions" like "variable variables":
<?php
$def = 'constant';
$string = <<<END
This is PHP running on<br />
{$def('PHP_OS')}
END;
var_dump($string);
?>
In this example we make use of the "constant" function which is builtin, and it will output:
string(37) " This is PHP running on
WINNT"
Tested on PHP 5...
Best regards

creeves
Intersting to note:
I found this in php5 on windows
If you try to unset a constant (which you cant but maybe you have a Jr. programmer or something).  The error message that is thrown is:
<?php
define ("SOME_CONSTANT", true);
unset (SOME_CONSTANT);
?>
Parse error: parse error, unexpected ')', expecting T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM

joel
If your constants don't show up in your included or required files, then you probably have php safe mode turned on!
I ran into this problem, I forgot to turn of safe mode when I was creating a new site.

e s lin d sey
Constants can't be referenced from within quotes or (more importantly IMHO) from within HEREDOC syntax. This is a huge drawback in my opinion. Here's two of my workarounds:
<?php
//PHP5 only -- more efficient
$constarray = get_defined_constants(true);
foreach($constarray['user'] as $key => $val)
   eval(sprintf('$_CONSTANTS[\'%s\'] = \'%s\';', addslashes($key), addslashes($val)));
//PHP4+ -- less efficient because it defines (potentially) hundreds of unnecessary constants
foreach(get_defined_constants() as $key => $val)
   eval(sprintf('$_CONSTANTS[\'%s\'] = \'%s\';', addslashes($key), addslashes($val)));
?>
Now you can refer to your defined constants using the $_CONSTANTS array. Note that because this is NOT a superglobal, a few caveats apply:
<?php
//run code snippet here to define $_CONSTANTS in global scope...
$mv = $_CONSTANTS['FOO']; //works
function my_function1()
{
   $mv = $_CONSTANTS['BAR']; //doesn't work! not defined!
}
function my_function2()
{
   global $_CONSTANTS;
   $mv = $_CONSTANTS['BAR']; //ah, this works!
}
?>
I realize this is not ideal, either for performance or for convenience of being able to refer to constants without regard to scope, but it is a workaround that works. Depending on your application, it may be easier to shift your paradigm a bit and use the following method instead, declaring your constants as variables first:
<?php
//first, define our constants...
$_CONSTANTS['FOO'] = 'bar';
$_CONSTANTS['BAR'] = 'foo';
//now, turn them into real constants...
foreach($_CONSTANTS as $key => $val)
   define($key, $val);
//now, you can use either format to refer to a constant
print($_CONSTANTS['FOO']);   //prints 'bar'
print(FOO);                  //prints 'bar'
print("$_CONSTANTS['FOO']"); //prints 'bar'
                            //prints 'blah bar blah'
print <<<EOF
 blah {$_CONSTANTS['FOO']} blah
EOF;
?>
Hope this helps some of you out there, I know being able to utilize my constants in HEREDOC helped me a ton!

dont care
chris at frecod dot de, you might just use SQL for this:
NOT IN(var1,var2,var3,var4,var5,var6)

12-feb-2005 04:45
Better pack with define() for all who really miss Java package management:
Use this "manifest.php" on very first script start or copy it to your config.somehow.php.
<?php
$__packages = array(
"org.ilove.java.more",
"org.ilove.python.too",
"net.php.isok"
);
define("C_IS_WINDOWS", false);
define("C_DIR", (C_IS_WINDOWS ? "\\" : "/"));
define("C_PATH_ROOT", str_replace("/", C_DIR, $_SERVER["DOCUMENT_ROOT"]).C_DIR);
define("C_PATH_CORE", C_PATH_ROOT."core".C_DIR);
define("C_PATH_CLASS", C_PATH_CORE."classes".C_DIR);
define("C_APPLICATION_BASE", C_PATH_CORE.C_DIR."application".C_DIR);
$total_packages = 0;
$i = sizeof($__packages);
while($i-- > 0) {
$tokens = explode(".", $__packages[$i]);
$j = sizeof($tokens);
while($j-- > 0) {
$token = strtolower(trim($tokens[$j]));
if(strlen($token) > 0 && !defined($token)) {
define($token, ($j == 0 ? C_PATH_CLASS : "").$tokens[$j].C_DIR);
$total_packages++;
}
}
}
define("C_PACKAGE_COUNT", $total_packages);
?>
With restrictions on non-package constants, you now can call your files like that:
<?php
require_once org.ilove.java.more."Than.php";
?>
Regards
Robi

stangelanda
An improvement on the function from bobbykjack at yahoo dot co dot uk on the concept by richard dot quadling at bandvulc dot co dot uk:
<?php
function adefine($constant_name, $value=null) {
   static $increment = 0; // 1 for bitmask
   if (is_null($value)) {
       define($constant_name, ++$increment); // $increment=$increment<<1 for bitmask
   } else {
       define($constant_name, $value);
       if (is_numeric($value)) {
           $increment = $value;
}
   }
}
?>
If you pass it a second argument it defines it normally, and resets the increment if the value is numeric.  This way the function can replace define, and you can reset the counter for a new set of constants.
<?php
adefine ('RULE_CALLBACK_FORMAT', 1); // 1
adefine ('RULE_CHANGE_CALLBACK_ON_ERROR'); // 2
adefine ('RULE_CHANGE_COMPARE_DATE'); // 3
adefine('KEYWORD', 'hodgepodge'); // hodgepodge <-- defined normally
adefine ('RULE_CHANGE_ON_DATE'); // 4
adefine ('ERROR_DESC', 1); // 1 <-- Counter reset
adefine ('ERROR_EXPECTED_RESULT'); // 2
?>

smifffy
a basic function to auto assign a numeric value that increase by itself each time - used in some permission style scripts
<?php
function define_bitwise($constant_name, $reset = False)
{
static $bitwise_next = 1;
if ( $reset === True )
{
$bitwise_next = 1;
}
define($constant_name, $bitwise_next);

$bitwise_next += $bitwise_next;
}
?>
when reset it set to True, resets that value to 1 and starts afresh

phpnet
---[Editor's Note]---
As of PHP 5.0.0 this is possible. You can define class-only constants, which can be called like Foo::Constant1 from the outside
---[End Note]---
Please keep in mind that
class AClass {
 define ("Const1", "Value1");
 ... }
didn't work. You have to make all your constant definitions before you open the class. So
define ("Const1", "Value1");
class AClass {
 ... }
would be correct.

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