Question

If the array is not null (and has values in it), then I want to display the table.
But if it is null, then I don’t want to display any table code at all.

Using an MVC framework which appends a footer to the page.

What is the best way to avoid a statement like:

<?php 
  if ($users) {
    echo '<table id="tha_table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
            <thead>
              <tr>
                <th>First Name</th>
                <th>Last Name</th>
                <th>Email</th>
             </tr>
          </thead>
         <tbody>';
  } ?>

And, don’t want to do another test to add the table footer.

Answer 1

I always use empty() to check whether an array is empty. Empty will also check whether the variable is null. Note that empty() does not throw a warning if the array variable is not set, which may or may not be desirable.

<?php

   $displayUserTable = !empty($users);

?>

<?php if($displayUserTable): ?>

<table id="tha_table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">

<thead>
<tr>
    <th>First Name</th>
    <th>Last Name</th>
    <th>Email</th>
</tr>
</thead>

<tbody>

<?php foreach($users as $user): ?>

<tr>
    <td><?php echo htmlspecialchars($user['firstName']); ?></td>
    <td><?php echo htmlspecialchars($user['lastName']); ?></td>
    <td><?php echo htmlspecialchars($user['emailAddress']); ?></td>
</tr>

<?php endforeach; ?>

</tbody>

</table>

<?php endif; ?>

<?php if($displayUserTable): ?>

    <!-- show footer here... -->

<?php endif; ?>