How Can I Prevent \'Trying to access array offset on value of type null\' Errors in PHP 7.4?

Nullified Array Offsets and PHP 7.4

PHP 7.4 brings enhanced error handling, and one common issue encountered during script maintenance is the "Trying to access array offset on value of type null" error. This occurs when an attempt is made to access an array key that does not exist or when the array itself has a null value.

In the given example, the issue arises within the trimOTLdata function, where $cOTLdata['char_data'] is potentially null. Prior versions of PHP may have ignored such errors, but PHP 7.4 imposes stricter validation.

To resolve this issue, it's essential to check if $cOTLdata is null before attempting to access its keys. This can be done using the is_null() function:

$len = is_null($cOTLdata) ? 0 : count($cOTLdata['char_data']);

If both $cOTLdata and $cOTLdata['char_data'] could potentially be null, a more comprehensive check using isset() can be employed:

$len = !isset($cOTLdata['char_data']) ? 0 : count($cOTLdata['char_data']);

By implementing these checks, the script will handle null arrays and avoid the runtime error.

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