Laravel 5: Undefined variable return_array [duplicate]

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• PHP: “Notice: Undefined variable” and “Notice: Undefined index” 13 answers

I'm trying to get data with ajax call, and after sending the ajax call i want to store data in array, but I'm getting this error when I open the page.

Undefined variable: return_array

My function

public function findUser(Request $request) {
    $findUserInput = $request->get('name');
    $user = DB::table('users')
        ->where('name', $findUserInput)
        ->first();

    $data =  DB::select("SELECT * FROM users WHERE name='$user'");

    foreach ($data as $da) {
        $return_array[] = $da;
    } 

    return $return_array;      
}

Any ideas?

via Chebli Mohamed