Passing a variable to all functions

[Jat421]

Hi, I am little confused on how to pass a variable to all the functions. For example I have a function called

Func Connect()
$sql = _MySQLConnect('root', 'root', 'test', '192.168.0.10')
EndFunc

And I have other functions that will be using $sql string to connect to the sql.

Func Test()
Connect()
$i = _Query($sql, "select test from test1 limit 1")
EndFunc

As you can see I want to pass $sql to test() from the connect(). What is the best way to accomplish this?

In C it can be accomplished by using pointers I believe. I guess I am looking for a way to make the code faster without increasing the size.

I guess one way of doing it would be to make $sql global variable?

Edited July 23, 2012 by Jat421

[Skitty]

at the top of the script text file addd "global $SQL", it should make the variable accessable whereever it will be present

[water]

Globals variables shouldn't be used that way.

It's better to return the result of function Connect to the calling script.

Func Connect()
    Local $sql = _MySQLConnect('root', 'root', 'test', '192.168.0.10')
    Return $sql
EndFunc

and

Func Test()
    Local $sql = Connect()
    $i = _Query($sql, "select test from test1 limit 1")
EndFunc

Edited July 23, 2012 by water

[Jat421]

Great thanks water that's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

[water]

[DicatoroftheUSA]

Byref can also reduce performance penalty.

from the helpfile on "func":

"The ByRef keyword indicates the parameter should be treated as a reference to the original object. The default behavior copies the parameter into a new variable however ByRef links the new variable to the original parameter. ByRef is typically preferred when a function expects large amounts of data, such as a large array, where copying all the data would impose a significant performance penalty."