PHP variable scope with nested include returned by function

Question

Thanks in advance for any help. :)
Ok, here's my problem.
Simplified version of the code:
global space with include file

include file where $var is defined and function is called that returns an include statement
include file returned by function and where $var is no longer accessible

Why is $var no longer accessible?

I suspect it has to do with the function or maybe I am missing something else. The function is like so:

function blah() {
return include_once 'filename.php';
}

Answer 1

Works as designed. Think of the code as if the includes weren't there: You're inside a function, which has its own scope. Global variables are not accessible there.

Your options:

• Pass the variable as a reference to blah(&$variable)

• Import the variable from global space using global $varname

• If you're on PHP 5.3, use the new closure feature

• Use a fancy OOP construct like Static classes, Singletons or Dependency Injection (probably overkill)