Many times we will not get the value of the variables inside a function to use. The reason is that the variables became local inside the function so variables declared outside the function will not be available inside the function for use. Also the variables used inside the function will not be available for the main script to use. For this return statement is to be used.
We can also pass the variables into the function by using arguments. To use the variables of main script inside the function we have to make them global first. Here is the code explaining how variables can be declared inside the function as global.
<?Php
$v1="Hello 1";
function test(){
echo "The value of \$v1= $v1";
// The above line will print The value of $v1=
global $v1;
echo "<br>The value of \$v1= $v1";
// The above line will print The value of $v1= Hello 1
$v2="Hello 2";
}
test();
echo "<br>The value of \$v2=$v2";
// The above line will print The value of $v2=
?>
In above code we have seen the local variable inside the function lost its value once function execution is completed. To retain the values for successive execution of the function we have to use static variables. Here is the code to explain about static variables.