PHP : Determine whether a variable or object is empty.

README.md

is_var_empty

(PHP 5 >= 5.4)
is_var_empty — Determine whether a variable or object is empty.

Description

boolean is_var_empty( mixed $var )

Alternative to empty() which will resolve stringable and arrayable objects.

Parameters

• var — The value to be checked.

Return Values

Returns FALSE if var exists and has a non-empty value. Otherwise returns TRUE.

Installation

With Composer

$ composer require mcaskill/php-is-var-empty

Without Composer

Why are you not using composer? Download Function.Is-Var-Empty.php from the gist and save the file into your project path somewhere.

composer.json

{
  "name": "mcaskill/php-is-var-empty",
  "description": "Determine whether a variable or object is empty.",
  "license": "MIT",
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Chauncey McAskill",
      "email": "chauncey@mcaskill.ca",
      "homepage": "https://github.com/mcaskill"
    }
  ],
  "keywords": [
    "function"
  ],
  "extra": {
    "branch-alias": {
      "dev-master": "1.x-dev"
    }
  },
  "require": {
    "php": ">=5.4.0"
  },
  "autoload": {
    "files": ["Function.Is-Var-Empty.php"]
  }
}

Function.Is-Var-Empty.php

<?php

if (!function_exists('is_var_empty')) {
    /**
     * Determine whether a variable is empty.
     *
     * Alternative to {@see empty()} which will resolve stringable and arrayable objects.
     *
     * @param  mixed $var The value to be checked.
     * @return boolean Returns FALSE if var exists and has a non-empty value. Otherwise returns TRUE.
     */
    function is_var_empty($var)
    {
        if (!isset($var)) {
            return true;
        }

        if (is_array($var) || ($var instanceof Traversable)) {
            $length = 0;
            foreach ($var as $val) {
                if (!is_var_empty($val)) {
                    return false;
                }
            }
            return true;
        }

        if (is_object($var) && method_exists($var, '__toString')) {
            $var = strval($var);
        }

        if (is_string($var)) {
            $var = trim($var);
        }

        return empty($var) && !is_numeric($var);
    }
}