MySQL ifnull equivalent for php

Question

My scenario:

$exTime = get_cfg_var("session.gc_maxlifetime")?get_cfg_var("session.gc_maxlifetime"):1440;

I'd like it to be like mysql:

$exTime = isnull(get_cfg_var("session.gc_maxlifetime"),1440);

or something like it that would also test for FALSE ideally. That way I'd only have to call the function once!

I know I could just assign it to a var, but that would add another line to my code (oh nooes!!). It's really a cosmetic thing, I think it'd be easier to read. Anyway google hasn't helped me (inb4 someone proving me wrong). Thanks!

Answer 1

How about adding this small function?

function isnull($var, $default=null) {
    return is_null($var) ? $default : $var;
}

I don't know of any function that does what you want, but since it's not that hard to implement you might as well do that if you use it a lot.

Answer 2

As of PHP 5.3 you could also use the short ternary operator:

$exTime = get_cfg_var("session.gc_maxlifetime") ?: 1440;

This is basically your anticipated function but without having to declare the function. In PHP version prior to 5.3, you should go with André's answer.

Keep in mind though, that calling the function might throw warnings, if it is about to check arrays in which keys aren't specified:

$array = array(
    0 => array(
        0 => 100
    )
);

$example = isNull($array[0][1], 200);