wireEmpty() function

Is the given value empty according to ProcessWire standards?

This works the same as PHP’s empty() function except for the following:

  • It returns true for Countable objects that have 0 items.
  • It considers whitespace-only strings to be empty.
  • It considers WireNull objects (like NullPage or any others) to be empty (3.0.149+).
  • It uses the string value of objects that can be typecast strings (3.0.150+).
  • You cannot pass it an undefined variable without triggering a PHP warning.

Available since version 3.0.143.

Example

// behavior with Countable objects
$a = new WireArray();
empty($a); // PHP’s function returns false
wireEmpty($a); // PW’s function returns true
$a->add('item');
wireEmpty($a); // returns false, since there is now an item

// behavior with whitespace-only string
$s = '  ';
empty($s); // PHP’s function returns false
wireEmpty($s); // PW’s function returns true

// behavior with undefined variable $v
isset($v); // returns false
empty($v); // returns true
wireEmpty($v); // returns true but with PHP’s warning triggered

Usage

$bool = wireEmpty(mixed $value);

Arguments

NameType(s)Description
valuemixed

Value to test if empty

Return value

bool


Functions methods and properties

API reference based on ProcessWire core version 3.0.244

“…building with ProcessWire was a breeze, I really love all the flexibility the system provides. I can’t imagine using any other CMS in the future.” —Thomas Aull