Re: register_globals off or on, why on

>> "Geeklog needs the register_globals variable turned on in order to work. >> Since PHP 4.2.0, the default for register_globals is "off". To fix it, >> simply add the following line to your php.ini file > >Is this not *wrong*. It sounds to me like fake laziness. Nothing drives >me bonkers more than trying to track down a variable that is inherited >from who knows where. > >Perhaps I'm missing something. I've recently worked on a lot of PHP >code written by others and it's a nightmare trying to track down where >a variable is defined and where it's value might be changed. Perhaps >there is some tool I can use to trace this. I dunno. > >Am I correct in my aversion to globals or I am I missing their true >value and perhaps some tools I could use when working on apps that have >more than 50 php files floating all over the place and no >documentation. If it's not obvious where the value is coming from, whether they have register_globals "on" or "off" isn't really going to help. If the code is that messy, then they'll probably have something like: <?php $i = $_REQUEST['i']; ?> in one file, and then start using $i out of the blue 37 files later, and 'i' is *such* a great variable name, isn't it? register_globals "off" only stops the over-riding of un-initialized variables from the "outside" world (GET/POST/COOKIE). If you've got crappy code with un-initialized variables in the first place, you've got much bigger problems than register_globals -- You need to throw out a big pile of code. Unfortunately, some very popular but crappy code-bases out there continue to be used by the masses, so we're all stuck with stupid register_globals settings because of poor programming. It's the right solution for a [bleeped]-up world, but that doesn't make one not wish for a better world. I guess I'm saying that there is only one correct tool to use for applications with 50 php files floating all over the place and no documentation: rm -rf application YMMV NAIAA IANAL -- Like Music? http://l-i-e.com/artists.htm