set a function equal to a variable so i can do this($var)

[almaistru]

hey..newbie here..quick php questionsihave a function \[code\]<?php the_search(); ?>\[/code\] that just echoes what people searched fori want to put that in to another function \[code\]get_data($var)\[/code\] to get some data..how can i set \[code\]<?php the_search(); ?> equal to some $var..\[/code\]so i can do\[code\]$thing = get_data('$var');\[/code\]sorry if this sounded stupid