There are three ways to allow function parameters to accept null values ??in PHP: 1. Use nullable type syntax (?type), which is suitable for PHP 7.1. For example, ?string means that the parameter can be a string or null; 2. Do not declare the type, directly omit the type prompt, and null is supported by default; 3. Set the default value for the parameter to null, and clearly express the nullable intention. In addition, it is recommended to use the ?? operator to process parameters that may be null to avoid errors. These methods need to be selected based on version and requirements.
In PHP, it is not complicated if you want a function parameter to accept null
values. PHP itself is a weak-type language, but type checking can also be enhanced by type declarations. If you want a parameter to accept both a certain type (such as strings, integers, etc.) and null
, you need to do some special processing.

Here are some common practices and precautions:

Use the question mark (?) prefix to allow null values
Starting with PHP 7.1, you can use the "nullable type" syntax: add a question mark before the type declaration ?
indicating that the parameter can be of the specified type or null
.
function saysHello(?string $name) { if ($name === null) { echo "Hello, Guest!"; } else { echo "Hello, " . $name; } }
In this example, the $name
parameter can be a string or null
. You can write this when calling:

saysHello("Alice"); // Output Hello, Alice saysHello(null); // Output Hello, Guest
Note: This writing method is only applicable to PHP 7.1 and above.
null is allowed without declaring the type
If you do not need strict type checking, you can directly not write the type declaration, so that the parameters can be passed null
by default:
function greet($name) { echo "Hi, " . ($name ?? 'Guest'); }
This method has better compatibility and is suitable for scenarios with low requirements for types.
Set the default value to null
Even if you don't force the type, you can set the default value to make the parameters empty:
function logMessage(string $message, ?int $code = null) { if ($code === null) { echo "Message: $message"; } else { echo "Message: $message (Code: $code)"; } }
This way, $code
can be omitted when calling, or an integer or null
can be passed.
Summarize the operation steps:
- If you are using PHP 7.1, you can add
?
before the type to support null. - When strong types are not required, you can not add type declarations, and null is supported by default.
- Setting the default value to
null
for parameters is a common and clear approach. - It is a good practice to use the
??
operator to handle parameters that may be null.
Basically that's it. As long as you pay attention to the version and syntax, it is not difficult to implement, but it is easy to ignore details and lead to errors.
The above is the detailed content of How to make a function parameter nullable in PHP?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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