CODEWITHSUNDEEP
phpperformancevalidationfilter-varfilter-input
Chris Dev
Chris Dev

Reputation: 414

Difference between filter_var and filter_input on input data validation

What's the difference between using one of these two functions when validating user input? Strictly regarding the function calls, there's no requirement to change the $_POST array for instance.

$result = filter_var($_POST['user_input'], FILTER_VALIDATE_INT);

vs

$result = filter_input(INPUT_POST, 'user_input', FILTER_VALIDATE_INT);

Or there's no difference between the two calls above, not even performance wise, but rather just a matter of preference?

PS: I know there's a similar question on SO - Differences between filter_var and filter_input - but that just states how the 2 methods should be called, not what's the actual difference.

Upvotes: 4

Views: 2179

Answers (2)

RDardelet
RDardelet

Reputation: 564

From what i read on php.net,

The filter_var will simply work for any variable in your code, whenever you use it, it will check the value at that moment.

The filter_input value will check the original values of your input, meaning that if you change $_POST['something'], the filter_input(INPUT-POST, "something", FILTER) will perform a check on the value it had before you altered it. It also doesn't seem to trigger a E_NOTICE on execution when the value is not set.

Reference post on php.net

Upvotes: 4

deceze
deceze

Reputation: 522402

If the request body does not contain the parameter user_input at all, $_POST['user_input'] will trigger a notice, filter_input(INPUT_POST, 'user_input', ..) won't.

Upvotes: 0

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