(PHP 4 >= 4.1.0, PHP 5, PHP 7)
$_GET -- $HTTP_GET_VARS [deprecated] — HTTP GET variables
An associative array of variables passed to the current script via the URL parameters (aka. query string). Note that the array is not only populated for GET requests, but rather for all requests with a query string.
$HTTP_GET_VARS contains the same initial information, but is not a superglobal. (Note that $HTTP_GET_VARS and $_GET are different variables and that PHP handles them as such)
Example #1 $_GET example
<?php
echo 'Hello ' . htmlspecialchars($_GET["name"]) . '!';
?>
Assuming the user entered http://example.com/?name=Hannes
The above example will output something similar to:
Hello Hannes!
Note:
This is a 'superglobal', or automatic global, variable. This simply means that it is available in all scopes throughout a script. There is no need to do global $variable; to access it within functions or methods.
Note:
The GET variables are passed through urldecode().