[FIXED] NetBeans 8.2 PHP Code Completion Issue

Issue

So i've been having an issue with NetBeans code completion. I'm currently trying to set up a database connection that i can use in my other files. Inside of my connection.php file, I have access to all of the usual database methods. My end goal is to use prepared statements for my queries.

However, when i am inside my register.php file, with connection.php required at the top, suddenly code completion doesn't work anymore. I get the generic popup. This is the file i would like to actually use those prepared statements in. I would also like to avoid having to open a new connection in every file.

So my question to you is, is it me or is it NetBeans?

connection.php

$host = "localhost";
$username = "root";
$pass = "password";
$database = "LoganWebsiteUserLogin";

try {
    $conn = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=' . $database . ';charset=utf8mb4', $username, $pass);
    $conn->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
    echo "Connected Successfully!";
} catch (PDOException $e) {
    echo "Connection failed! " . $e->getMessage();
}

register.php

<?php 
require 'connection.php';

// Create session variables
$_SESSION['firstName'] = $_POST['firstName'];
$_SESSION['lastName'] = $_POST['lastName'];
$_SESSION['email'] = $_POST['email'];


// trying to access $conn from connection.php here, however autocomplete for 
// it is not working. NetBeans doesn't know that $conn is a PDO
$conn->

Solution

It works in PhpStorm but not in Netbeans. But anyway, global variables are not recommended and lead to unwanted side effects. Maybe try a different approach.

Example:

connection.php

<?php

function db(): PDO
{
    static $pdo = null;
    if (!$pdo) {
        $host = "localhost";
        $username = "root";
        $password = "password";
        $database = "LoganWebsiteUserLogin";

        $options = [
            PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION,
            PDO::ATTR_PERSISTENT => false,
            PDO::ATTR_DEFAULT_FETCH_MODE => PDO::FETCH_ASSOC,
            PDO::MYSQL_ATTR_INIT_COMMAND => "SET NAMES utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci",
        ];
        $pdo = new PDO("mysql:host=$host;dbname=$database;charset=utf8mb4", $username, $password, $options);
    }
    return $pdo;
}

register.php

<?php

require_once __DIR__ . '/connection.php';

// Create session variables
$_SESSION['firstName'] = $_POST['firstName'];
$_SESSION['lastName'] = $_POST['lastName'];
$_SESSION['email'] = $_POST['email'];

// Works :-)
db()->

Answered By - odan