Question

since undefined equates to false, i am wondering if there are any draw backs to replacing the following code:

    public static function user_access_level() {
        if (isset($_SESSION['lev_user_access'])) {
            return $_SESSION['lev_user_access'];
        } else {
            return false;
        }
    }

with:

    public static function user_access_level() {
        return $_SESSION['lev_user_access'];
    }

Answer 1

You will get a warning, if you have E_WARNING (or E_ALL, which you should be coding with).

Notice: Undefined index: lev_user_access in /your-script.php on line 7

You could use a ternary operator…

return isset($_SESSION['lev_user_access']) ? $_SESSION['lev_user_access'] : FALSE ;