In PHP it is not required to initialize variables before their usage. However, using uninitialized variables is considered bad practice and should
be avoided because of the following reasons:
- The value and type of uninitialized variables depend on the context of their first usage. It is better to be explicit about those to avoid
confusion.
- The interpreter raises a warning or a notice in many cases.
Noncompliant code example
<?php
function getText(array $lines): string {
foreach ($lines as $line) {
$text .= $line;
}
return $text;
}
Compliant solution
<?php
function getText(array $lines): string {
$text = "";
foreach ($lines as $line) {
$text .= $line;
}
return $text;
}
