<http://php.net/manual/en/function.filter-input-array.php>

`filter_input_array()`

```
mixed filter_input_array ( int $type [, mixed $definition [, bool $add_empty = true ]] )

```

**Possbile `$type` values**:

```
INPUT_GET, INPUT_POST, INPUT_COOKIE, INPUT_SERVER, or INPUT_ENV

```

Is it possible to count the number of elements associated with the "type" argument (which is an integer) *without referencing a super global*? Since the "type" argument is an integer, I do not think the following would work. 

**Non-working example:**

```
count(INPUT_POST);

```

My goal is to test the result of counting the elements associated with the "type" argument to see if at least the minimum, or at most the maximum, number of elements were submitted. Range checking is not a problem for me. Getting the count of external super global elements without using a super global is my problem.

Using `filter_has_var()` in a loop with an array and a counter *will not suffice* because that would *only count the elements I want to filter that are also present in a given "type" argument's (INPUT\_POST, INPUT\_GET, ...) associated super global ($\_POST, $\_GET)*.

If more elements are present than what I want to allow, or less elements are present than are required, my program should throw an exception and take appropriate action.