PHP：$ _GET返回'空白'数据而不是URL中显示的数据

I'm trying to use the $_GET command in my Laravel PHP application to retrieve a value that is displayed in the URL after a user submits a form by selecting an option from a drop down menu. After the user makes their selection, the selected option is then displayed in the URL e.g.

URL before selection:

localhost:8000/pics_vids

URL after selection:

localhost:8000/pics_vids?category=tabletops

Controller:

if (isset($_GET['category']))
        {
            $urlcategory = $_GET['category'];

            /* Additional controller code */

            $data = compact('value1','value2', 'value3', 'urlcategory');

            $this->layout->content = \View::make('home.picsvids.pics_vids_overview', $data);

        }

View:

/*Output produces blank value instead of selected category */

<b>URL Category: {{ $urlcategory }}</b><br>

I'm not quite sure why it is appearing blank when it should return the value of the selected category. Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you!

Use the built in Input::get('name of variable here'); notation to get _GET and _POST variables. Should solve your problem and will certainly make your code easier to read/maintain.