Req #50331 [Opn->Csd]: undefined constant is consider to be string

Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=50331&edit=1 ID: 50331 Updated by: cmb@php.net Reported by: wdolek at gmail dot com Summary: undefined constant is consider to be string -Status: Open +Status: Closed Type: Feature/Change Request Package: Scripting Engine problem Operating System: GNU/Linux PHP Version: 5.2.11 -Assigned To: +Assigned To: cmb Block user comment: N Private report: N New Comment: Indeed, undefined constants raise a notice at least as of PHP 4.3.0, and as of PHP 7.2.0 they raise a warning.[1] As of PHP 8.0.0 they will raise an error.[2] [1] <https://3v4l.org/55kcP> [2] <https://wiki.php.net/rfc/deprecate-bareword-strings>. Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2012-03-28 08:43:31] php dot net at doppy dot nl Forgot to add: This request is actually already working. You just need to adjust your error_reporting settings for the error to show up in your error log. Unless the request is to change the behavior of undefined constants to change to a fatal error or something similar. But changing that is probably more problematic for a lot of scripts than the current behavior. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2012-03-28 08:40:02] php dot net at doppy dot nl When any unknown constant is converted to a string a NOTICE is given. You have to make sure error_reporting shows these notices. When I insert this before your code: <?php error_reporting(-1); ?> I get the following result: ---------------------------------------- PHP Notice: Use of undefined constant MY_DEFINED_CONSTANT - assumed 'MY_DEFINED_CONSTANT' in ./test.php on line 6 value of constant is TRUE ---------------------------------------- The automatic conversion of a non existing constant to a string is annoying. But making it a fatal error is probably more problematic. And off course you get a TRUE result in the expression as the string is not empty or 0. I always recommend programming with error_reporting set to *ALL* errors reported. In production you can reduce that a bit, but when programmed correctly the logfile will still be small. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2009-11-30 10:38:45] derick@php.net I wouldn't mind kicking this out in PHP 6 either... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2009-11-30 10:28:09] wdolek at gmail dot com Description: ------------ when using undefined constant, PHP consider name of constant to be string. when using this constant in if () or anywhere else, string value is cast as TRUE, which could confuse developer Reproduce code: --------------- // define('MY_DEFINED_CONSTANT', FALSE); if (MY_DEFINED_CONSTANT) { echo 'value of constant is TRUE'; } else { echo 'value of constant is FALSE'; } Expected result: ---------------- * error or at least warning, that we are using undefined constant * Actual result: -------------- value of constant is TRUE ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Edit this bug report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=50331&edit=1