Title: WordPress eats my defined variables?
Last modified: August 18, 2016

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# WordPress eats my defined variables?

 *  [Seth](https://wordpress.org/support/users/seth/)
 * (@seth)
 * [20 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-eats-my-defined-variables/)
 * I use some external PHP I’ve written (that is not really a plugin) to read some
   files and do various things. Its configuration is stored in a file called config.
   php. config.php is just a PHP file containing a set of variable assignments in
   the form:
 * $INFO[‘setting’] = ‘thevalue’;
 * Then, I pick up those variables at various parts throughout my page and act upon
   them.
 * However, here is the issue. I cannot include the config.php file any earlier 
   than the get_header(); call in /wp-content/themes/thetheme/index.php. If I do,
   then mysteriously my variables are wiped.
 * For example, if I include config.php after the get_header() call, $INFO[‘name’]
   == ‘Seth’.
 * If I include the file before this call, perhaps in the file header.php, $INFO[‘
   name’] === NULL!
 * Please help me solve this frustrating problem 🙁

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

 *  [davidchait](https://wordpress.org/support/users/davidchait/)
 * (@davidchait)
 * [20 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-eats-my-defined-variables/#post-364047)
 * Have you tried adding:
 * global $INFO;
 * … in both the config.php and the files in which you are referencing the array?
   I’ve had lots of problems, which I think are due to variable scoping settings
   of some sort (they only showed up when I upgraded to PHP5, brand new php ini…).
 * -d
 *  [forceagainstsomething](https://wordpress.org/support/users/forceagainstsomething/)
 * (@forceagainstsomething)
 * [20 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-eats-my-defined-variables/#post-364064)
 * Seth,
    On another note, it’s good practice to prefix your own defined variables
   with something unique, to prevent them clashing with WordPress variables. Something
   like $MYVAR_INFO instead of just $INFO. You never know, WP might already have
   a variable named $INFO (it doesn’t) that would cause your variable to get wiped.
 *  You might also benefit from defining your variables in a custom plugin, and 
   activating the plugin.
 * – Sean
 *  Thread Starter [Seth](https://wordpress.org/support/users/seth/)
 * (@seth)
 * [20 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-eats-my-defined-variables/#post-364111)
 * davidchait: Yes, I’ve global’d everything properly, as can be seen by the fact
   it works when placed after the get_header() call. Something is destroying my 
   global.
 * forceagainstsomething: I picked $INFO so that it wouldn’t clash with WordPress,
   but you’re right just the same. My functions use prefixes, though.
 * I really need this to be a drop-in solution, however, because it’s generic enough
   to work outside of WordPress, so a plugin is not the answer. Is there a function
   call somewhere that wipes globals or something?
 *  [davidchait](https://wordpress.org/support/users/davidchait/)
 * (@davidchait)
 * [20 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-eats-my-defined-variables/#post-364184)
 * Seth –
 * actually, it’s not clear. I find that if I have something included in via a function
   call (or other various methods) that declares a global, I still need to declare
   that global inside the file I’m referencing from.
 * so, for instance, you include your file directly in index.php and reference the
   global from index.php, everything works fine. INFO isn’t decl’d in index.php.
   However, you move the include into you header.php, which is actually pulled in
   via the get_header fn, and somewhere the scope is messed up. In that case, in
   both the included file AND in index.php I do something like:
    `global $INFO` …
   before referencing the thing in either file.
 * Again, this is something I’ve been having lots of problems with recently on my
   PHP5 Wampserver local install, yet code up on my hosted server doesn’t seem to
   run into the same issue. I’m just presuming something changed in how globals 
   get auto-scoped (versus using the GLOBALS superglobal to access things…).
 * -d

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

The topic ‘WordPress eats my defined variables?’ is closed to new replies.

## Tags

 * [get_header](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/get_header/)
 * [php](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/php/)
 * [variable](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/variable/)

 * 4 replies
 * 3 participants
 * Last reply from: [davidchait](https://wordpress.org/support/users/davidchait/)
 * Last activity: [20 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-eats-my-defined-variables/#post-364184)
 * Status: not resolved

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