Question

I remember reading this code somewhere:

<?php

class test {
    public $foo = 6, $bar;
}

$a = new test();
echo $a->foo; //6
echo $a->bar; //no output

What does the comma do in public $foo = 6, $bar;? Why does my IDE give me error when I remove public? I do find out that $bar is declared by doing so, but I don’t think that’s the sole reason why you code it this way though.

Answer 1

The comma is functionally the same as:

<?php
class test {
    public $foo = 6;
    public $bar;
}

$a = new test();
echo $a->foo; //6
echo $a->bar; //no output

Basically, it just means declare another public variable. If you remove public, you’re no longer declaring a public variable, so your IDE complains. The reason people code that way is to save space. It’s just shorthand for a longer form.