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Start your free trialChris Seals
4,507 PointsThe struggle is real
The following statements bring back nothing. I am struggling to understand why:
$username = "Treehouse";
if ($username) {
if ($username != "Treehouse") {
echo "Hello $username";
}
} else {
echo "You must be logged in";
}
Here is how I am thinking about the problem, correct me:
- $username cannot equal treehouse, but it does, so we do not echo "hello $username"
- ($username) evaluates as true, and therefore does not meet the criteria for else, and therefore we also do not echo "you must be logged in"?
Moderator edited: Added markdown so that the code renders properly on the forums.
3 Answers
Jennifer Nordell
Treehouse TeacherYour thought process is correct. Because $username evaluates to a truthy value, the else
will never occur. So the first if
statement block is executed. However, it contains another if
statement. That one says if
the username is not "Treehouse". But it is Treehouse, so this evaluates to a false, meaning that the block inside it won't execute either.
Hope this helps!
Chris Seals
4,507 PointsOne small additional question: If the variable "$username" was never previously defined, would it still be considered a truthy statement?
Jennifer Nordell
Treehouse TeacherI think I may have misinterpreted what you were asking. Let's say $x was never defined.
if($x) {
echo "This is true.";
}
The above code will result in an error.
This, however, will not:
if($x = 10) {
echo "This is true.";
}
Because 10 is a truthy value, this works even on a previously undefined variable. But you cannot use an undefined variable and still not define it in the if
statement.
molo
8,927 PointsProbably be better to code it like this. First statement checks if the Username exists AND if the username is NOT equal to $username (In this case, Treehouse)
$username = "Treehouse";
if ($username && $username != 'Treehouse') {
echo "Hello $username";
} else {
echo "You must be logged in";
}
Code above will print 'You must be logged in'
However, If we change $username to another value such as Tim - It will execute the first statement 'Hello Tim' as $username is NOT EQUAL to 'Treehouse'
Jennifer Nordell
Treehouse TeacherJennifer Nordell
Treehouse TeacherHi there! I took the liberty of adding some markdown to your code so that it's more easily readable. If you have a moment, check out the Markdown Cheatsheet at the bottom of the "Add an Answer" section for instructions on how to properly format code for the forums.