Why can't I access this global variable? <p>I of course tried it with out the <code>$GLOBALS</code> and still no go. Is my syntax correct. My understanding is that <code>$DB_USER</code> is in the global scope.</p> <pre><code>&lt;?php $DB_USER = 'foo'; class Database { // this does not work private $DB_USER = $GLOBALS['DB_USER']; private $DB_PASS = 'foob'; private $DB_DRIVER = 'foob_foob'; // ... </code></pre>