Question

I have an error.php file which can be grossly simplified to:

<?

  if (!isset($error))
    $error = "Unspecified Error";

  echo "Error: $error";

?>

It is not “normal usage” to just navigate to error.php. Rather, I would do something like:

$dbh = mysql_connect($host, $user, $pass);

if (!$dbh)
{
  $error = "Can't connect to MySQL: " . mysql_error();
  include('error.php');
  exit();
}

That said, if the user does navigate to error.php then they will just get “Error: Unspecified Error” as expected.

All my code is working, and the error page shows up and works exactly as expected, however Zend is complaining that $error is undefined on the line: if (!isset($error)).

I realise my design pattern is awful, but I’m just throwing together something quick-and-dirty in this case.

Answer 1

Better idea, create a function instead:

function output_error( $error = NULL )
{
    if( !$error ) $error = "Unspecified Error";
    echo "Error: $error";
}

It has the benefit of both removing the Zend issue, and you have a MUCH better design. Then:

if (!$dbh)
{
  include('error.php');
  output_error( "Can't connect to MySQL: " . mysql_error() );
  exit();
}