PHP Syntax Error in Setting Global Variable
global-variables, php, syntax
Solution
`global` is a keyword that should be used by itself. It must not be combined with an assignment. So, chop it:
global $x;
$x = 42;
Also, as Zenham mentions, `global` is used inside functions, to access variables in an outer scope. So the use of `global` as it is presented makes little sense.
Another tip (though it will not really help you with syntax errors): add the following line to the top of the main file, to help debugging (documentation):
error_reporting(E_ALL);
Problem
Ok, so my PHP is, to say the least, horrible. I inherited an application and am having to fix errors in it from someone that wrote it over 7 years ago. When I run the page, there is no return, so I checked the logs to see the error and here is what i get: PHP Parse error: syntax error, unexpected '=', expecting ',' or ';' in /httpdocs/cron123/purge.php on line 4 Here is the code: ``` <? ob_start(); global $siteRoot = '/httpdocs/'; global $reportRoot = '/reports/'; include('billing1.php'); $date='Purge report for: ' .date('M d, Y \a\t g:i a'); ?> <html> <head><title><?=$date?></title></head> <body> <?php $account = new billing(); $ftresult = $account->purge(); new dBug($ftresult); echo "successfully wrote"; ?> </body> <? $filename = "purge_report_" . date('y.m.d_\a\t_g_i_a') . ".html"; $loc = $reportRoot . 'purge_reports/'; $f = $loc . $filename; $fp = @fopen($f, 'w'); @fwrite($fp, ob_get_contents()); @fclose($fp); ob_end_flush(); ?> ```