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Unit VI Programming Structure of PHP

This document provides an overview of PHP including what PHP is, how PHP files work, what PHP can do, why use PHP, PHP installation, PHP syntax, variables, and variable scope. Key points are that PHP is a server-side scripting language used to create dynamic web pages, PHP code is embedded into HTML files and executed on the server, and variables are containers that store data in PHP.

Uploaded by

Dipen Dhakal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
43 views

Unit VI Programming Structure of PHP

This document provides an overview of PHP including what PHP is, how PHP files work, what PHP can do, why use PHP, PHP installation, PHP syntax, variables, and variable scope. Key points are that PHP is a server-side scripting language used to create dynamic web pages, PHP code is embedded into HTML files and executed on the server, and variables are containers that store data in PHP.

Uploaded by

Dipen Dhakal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 68

BKC Unit VI: Programming Structure of PHP

PHP Introduction
PHP scripts are executed on the server.

What You Should Already Know


Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:

 HTML
 CSS
 JavaScript

If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on our Home page.

What is PHP?
 PHP is an acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor"
 PHP is a widely-used, open source scripting language
 PHP scripts are executed on the server
 PHP is free to download and use

PHP is an amazing and popular language!

It is powerful enough to be at the core of the biggest blogging system on the


web (WordPress)!
It is deep enough to run the largest social network (Facebook)!
It is also easy enough to be a beginner's first server side language!

What is a PHP File?


 PHP files can contain text, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP code
 PHP code are executed on the server, and the result is returned to the browser
as plain HTML
 PHP files have extension ".php"

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What Can PHP Do?


 PHP can generate dynamic page content
 PHP can create, open, read, write, delete, and close files on the server
 PHP can collect form data
 PHP can send and receive cookies
 PHP can add, delete, modify data in your database
 PHP can be used to control user-access
 PHP can encrypt data

With PHP you are not limited to output HTML. You can output images, PDF files, and
even Flash movies. You can also output any text, such as XHTML and XML.

Why PHP?
 PHP runs on various platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, etc.)
 PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.)
 PHP supports a wide range of databases
 PHP is free. Download it from the official PHP resource: www.php.net
 PHP is easy to learn and runs efficiently on the server side

PHP is a server scripting language, and a powerful tool for making dynamic and
interactive Web pages.

PHP is a widely-used, free, and efficient alternative to competitors such as Microsoft's


ASP.

Easy Learning with "Show PHP"


Our "Show PHP" tool makes it easy to learn PHP, it shows both the PHP source code and
the HTML output of the code.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<?php
echo "My first PHP script!";
?>

</body>
</html>

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PHP 5 Installation
What Do I Need?
To start using PHP, you can:

 Find a web host with PHP and MySQL support


 Install a web server on your own PC, and then install PHP and MySQL

Use a Web Host With PHP Support


If your server has activated support for PHP you do not need to do anything.

Just create some .php files, place them in your web directory, and the server will
automatically parse them for you.

You do not need to compile anything or install any extra tools.

Because PHP is free, most web hosts offer PHP support.

Set Up PHP on Your Own PC


However, if your server does not support PHP, you must:

 install a web server


 install PHP
 install a database, such as MySQL

The official PHP website (PHP.net) has installation instructions for


PHP: http://php.net/manual/en/install.php

PHP 5 Syntax
The PHP script is executed on the server, and the plain HTML result is sent back to the
browser.

Basic PHP Syntax


A PHP script can be placed anywhere in the document.

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A PHP script starts with <?php and ends with ?>:

<?php
// PHP code goes here
?>

The default file extension for PHP files is ".php".

A PHP file normally contains HTML tags, and some PHP scripting code.

Below, we have an example of a simple PHP file, with a PHP script that uses a built-in
PHP function "echo" to output the text "Hello World!" on a web page:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<h1>My first PHP page</h1>

<?php
echo "Hello World!";
?>

</body>
</html>

Note: PHP statements end with a semicolon (;).

Comments in PHP
A comment in PHP code is a line that is not read/executed as part of the program. Its
only purpose is to be read by someone who is looking at the code.

Comments can be used to:

 Let others understand what you are doing


 Remind yourself of what you did - Most programmers have experienced coming
back to their own work a year or two later and having to re-figure out what they
did. Comments can remind you of what you were thinking when you wrote the
code

PHP supports several ways of commenting:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
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<?php
// This is a single-line comment

# This is also a single-line comment

/*
This is a multiple-lines comment block
that spans over multiple
lines
*/

// You can also use comments to leave out parts of a code line
$x = 5 /* + 15 */ + 5;
echo $x;
?>

</body>
</html>

PHP Case Sensitivity


In PHP, all keywords (e.g. if, else, while, echo, etc.), classes, functions, and user-
defined functions are NOT case-sensitive.

In the example below, all three echo statements below are legal (and equal):

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
ECHO "Hello World!<br>";
echo "Hello World!<br>";
EcHo "Hello World!<br>";
?>
</body>
</html>

However; all variable names are case-sensitive.

In the example below, only the first statement will display the value of the $color
variable (this is because $color, $COLOR, and $coLOR are treated as three different
variables):

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

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BKC Unit VI: Programming Structure of PHP

<?php
$color = "red";
echo "My car is " . $color . "<br>";
echo "My house is " . $COLOR . "<br>";
echo "My boat is " . $coLOR . "<br>";
?>

</body>
</html>

PHP 5 Variables
Variables are "containers" for storing information.

Creating (Declaring) PHP Variables


In PHP, a variable starts with the $ sign, followed by the name of the variable:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<?php
$txt = "Hello world!";
$x = 5;
$y = 10.5;

echo $txt;
echo "<br>";
echo $x;
echo "<br>";
echo $y;
?>

</body>
</html>

After the execution of the statements above, the variable $txt will hold the value Hello
world!, the variable $x will hold the value 5, and the variable $y will hold the
value 10.5.

Note: When you assign a text value to a variable, put quotes around the value.

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Note: Unlike other programming languages, PHP has no command for declaring a
variable. It is created the moment you first assign a value to it.

Think of variables as containers for storing data.

PHP Variables
A variable can have a short name (like x and y) or a more descriptive name (age,
carname, total_volume).

Rules for PHP variables:

 A variable starts with the $ sign, followed by the name of the variable
 A variable name must start with a letter or the underscore character
 A variable name cannot start with a number
 A variable name can only contain alpha-numeric characters and underscores (A-
z, 0-9, and _ )
 Variable names are case-sensitive ($age and $AGE are two different variables)

Remember that PHP variable names are case-sensitive!

Output Variables
The PHP echo statement is often used to output data to the screen.

The following example will show how to output text and a variable:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<?php
$txt = "W3Schools.com";
echo "I love $txt!";
?>

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</body>
</html>

The following example will produce the same output as the example above:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<?php
$txt = "W3Schools.com";
echo "I love " . $txt . "!";
?>

</body>
</html>

The following example will output the sum of two variables:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<?php
$x = 5;
$y = 4;
echo $x + $y;
?>

</body>
</html>

Note: You will learn more about the echo statement and how to output data to the
screen in the next chapter.

PHP is a Loosely Typed Language


In the example above, notice that we did not have to tell PHP which data type the
variable is.

PHP automatically converts the variable to the correct data type, depending on its
value.

In other languages such as C, C++, and Java, the programmer must declare the name
and type of the variable before using it.

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PHP Variables Scope


In PHP, variables can be declared anywhere in the script.

The scope of a variable is the part of the script where the variable can be
referenced/used.

PHP has three different variable scopes:

 local
 global
 static

Global and Local Scope


A variable declared outside a function has a GLOBAL SCOPE and can only be accessed
outside a function:

<?php
$x = 5; // global scope

function myTest() {
// using x inside this function will generate an error
echo "<p>Variable x inside function is: $x</p>";
}
myTest();

echo "<p>Variable x outside function is: $x</p>";


?>

A variable declared within a function has a LOCAL SCOPE and can only be accessed
within that function:

<?php
function myTest() {
$x = 5; // local scope
echo "<p>Variable x inside function is: $x</p>";
}
myTest();

// using x outside the function will generate an error


echo "<p>Variable x outside function is: $x</p>";
?>

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You can have local variables with the same name in different functions, because local variables
recognized by the function in which they are declared.

PHP The global Keyword


The global keyword is used to access a global variable from within a function.

To do this, use the global keyword before the variables (inside the function):

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<?php
$x = 5;
$y = 10;

function myTest() {
global $x, $y;
$y = $x + $y;
}

myTest(); // run function


echo $y; // output the new value for variable $y
?>

</body>
</html>

PHP also stores all global variables in an array called $GLOBALS[index]. The index holds
the name of the variable. This array is also accessible from within functions and can be
used to update global variables directly.

The example above can be rewritten like this:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<?php
$x = 5;
$y = 10;

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function myTest() {
$GLOBALS['y'] = $GLOBALS['x'] + $GLOBALS['y'];
}

myTest();
echo $y;
?>

</body>
</html>

PHP The static Keyword


Normally, when a function is completed/executed, all of its variables are deleted.
However, sometimes we want a local variable NOT to be deleted. We need it for a
further job.

To do this, use the static keyword when you first declare the variable:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<?php
function myTest() {
static $x = 0;
echo $x;
$x++;
}

myTest();
echo "<br>";
myTest();
echo "<br>";
myTest();
echo "<br>";
myTest();
echo "<br>";
myTest();
?>

</body>
</html>

Then, each time the function is called, that variable will still have the information it
contained from the last time the function was called.

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Note: The variable is still local to the function.

PHP 5 echo and print Statements


In PHP there are two basic ways to get output: echo and print.

In this tutorial we use echo (and print) in almost every example. So, this chapter
contains a little more info about those two output statements.

PHP echo and print Statements


echo and print are more or less the same. They are both used to output data to the
screen.

The differences are small: echo has no return value while print has a return value of 1
so it can be used in expressions. echo can take multiple parameters (although such
usage is rare) while print can take one argument. echo is marginally faster than print.

The PHP echo Statement


The echo statement can be used with or without parentheses: echo or echo().

Display Text

The following example shows how to output text with the echo command (notice that
the text can contain HTML markup):

Example

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<?php
echo "<h2>PHP is Fun!</h2>";
echo "Hello world!<br>";
echo "I'm about to learn PHP!<br>";
echo "This ", "string ", "was ", "made ", "with multiple
parameters.";
?>

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</body>
</html>

Display Variables

The following example shows how to output text and variables with the echo statement:

Example

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<?php
$txt1 = "Learn PHP";
$txt2 = "W3Schools.com";
$x = 5;
$y = 4;

echo "<h2>" . $txt1 . "</h2>";


echo "Study PHP at " . $txt2 . "<br>";
echo $x + $y;
?>

</body>
</html>

The PHP print Statement


The print statement can be used with or without parentheses: print or print().

Display Text

The following example shows how to output text with the print command (notice that
the text can contain HTML markup):

Example

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<?php
print "<h2>PHP is Fun!</h2>";
print "Hello world!<br>";
print "I'm about to learn PHP!";

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?>

</body>
</html>

Display Variables

The following example shows how to output text and variables with the print statement:

Example

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<?php
$txt1 = "Learn PHP";
$txt2 = "W3Schools.com";
$x = 5;
$y = 4;

print "<h2>" . $txt1 . "</h2>";


print "Study PHP at " . $txt2 . "<br>";
print $x + $y;
?>

</body>
</html>

PHP 5 Data Types


PHP Data Types
Variables can store data of different types, and different data types can do different
things.

PHP supports the following data types:

 String
 Integer
 Float (floating point numbers - also called double)
 Boolean
 Array
 Object
 NULL
 Resource

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PHP String
A string is a sequence of characters, like "Hello world!".

A string can be any text inside quotes. You can use single or double quotes:

Example
<?php
$x = "Hello world!";
$y = 'Hello world!';

echo $x;
echo "<br>";
echo $y;
?>

Run example »

PHP Integer
An integer is a whole number (without decimals). It is a number between -
2,147,483,648 and +2,147,483,647.

Rules for integers:

 An integer must have at least one digit (0-9)


 An integer cannot contain comma or blanks
 An integer must not have a decimal point
 An integer can be either positive or negative
 Integers can be specified in three formats: decimal (10-based), hexadecimal
(16-based - prefixed with 0x) or octal (8-based - prefixed with 0)

In the following example $x is an integer. The PHP var_dump() function returns the
data type and value:

Example
<?php
$x = 5985;
var_dump($x);
?>

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Run example »

PHP Float
A float (floating point number) is a number with a decimal point or a number in
exponential form.

In the following example $x is a float. The PHP var_dump() function returns the data
type and value:

Example
<?php
$x = 10.365;
var_dump($x);
?>

Run example »

PHP Boolean
A Boolean represents two possible states: TRUE or FALSE.

$x = true;
$y = false;

Booleans are often used in conditional testing. You will learn more about conditional
testing in a later chapter of this tutorial.

PHP Array
An array stores multiple values in one single variable.

In the following example $cars is an array. The PHP var_dump() function returns the
data type and value:

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Example
<?php
$cars = array("Volvo","BMW","Toyota");
var_dump($cars);
?>

Run example »

You will learn a lot more about arrays in later chapters of this tutorial.

PHP Object
An object is a data type which stores data and information on how to process that data.

In PHP, an object must be explicitly declared.

First we must declare a class of object. For this, we use the class keyword. A class is a
structure that can contain properties and methods:

Example
<?php
class Car {
function Car() {
$this->model = "VW";
}
}

// create an object
$herbie = new Car();

// show object properties


echo $herbie->model;
?>

Run example »

You will learn more about objects in a later chapter of this tutorial.

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PHP NULL Value


The special NULL value represents that a variable has no value. NULL is the only
possible value of data type NULL.

The NULL value identifies whether a variable is empty or not. Also useful to differentiate
between the empty string and null values of databases.

Variables can be emptied by setting the value to NULL:

Example
<?php
$x = "Hello world!";
$x = null;
var_dump($x);
?>

Run example »

PHP 5 String Functions


A string is a sequence of characters, like "Hello world!".

PHP String Functions


In this chapter we will look at some commonly used functions to manipulate strings.

The PHP strlen() function


The strlen() function returns the length of a string (number of characters).

The example below returns the length of the string "Hello world!":

Example
<?php
echo strlen("Hello world!");
?>

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Run example »

The output of the code above will be: 12.

The PHP strpos() function


The strpos() function is used to search for a specified character or text within a string.

If a match is found, it will return the character position of the first match. If no match is
found, it will return FALSE.

The example below searches for the text "world" in the string "Hello world!":

Example
<?php
echo strpos("Hello world!", "world");
?>

Run example »

The output of the code above will be: 6.

Tip: The first character position in a string is 0 (not 1).

PHP 5 String Functions


PHP 5 String Functions
The PHP string functions are part of the PHP core. No installation is required to use
these functions.

Function Description

addcslashes() Returns a string with backslashes in front of


the specified characters

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addslashes() Returns a string with backslashes in front of


predefined characters

bin2hex() Converts a string of ASCII characters to


hexadecimal values

chop() Removes whitespace or other characters


from the right end of a string

chr() Returns a character from a specified ASCII


value

chunk_split() Splits a string into a series of smaller parts

convert_cyr_string() Converts a string from one Cyrillic


character-set to another

convert_uudecode() Decodes a uuencoded string

convert_uuencode() Encodes a string using the uuencode


algorithm

count_chars() Returns information about characters used


in a string

crc32() Calculates a 32-bit CRC for a string

crypt() One-way string encryption (hashing)

echo() Outputs one or more strings

explode() Breaks a string into an array

fprintf() Writes a formatted string to a specified


output stream

get_html_translation_table() Returns the translation table used by


htmlspecialchars() and htmlentities()

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hebrev() Converts Hebrew text to visual text

hebrevc() Converts Hebrew text to visual text and


new lines (\n) into <br>

hex2bin() Converts a string of hexadecimal values to


ASCII characters

html_entity_decode() Converts HTML entities to characters

htmlentities() Converts characters to HTML entities

htmlspecialchars_decode() Converts some predefined HTML entities to


characters

htmlspecialchars() Converts some predefined characters to


HTML entities

implode() Returns a string from the elements of an


array

join() Alias of implode()

lcfirst() Converts the first character of a string to


lowercase

levenshtein() Returns the Levenshtein distance between


two strings

localeconv() Returns locale numeric and monetary


formatting information

ltrim() Removes whitespace or other characters


from the left side of a string

md5() Calculates the MD5 hash of a string

md5_file() Calculates the MD5 hash of a file

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metaphone() Calculates the metaphone key of a string

money_format() Returns a string formatted as a currency


string

nl_langinfo() Returns specific local information

nl2br() Inserts HTML line breaks in front of each


newline in a string

number_format() Formats a number with grouped thousands

ord() Returns the ASCII value of the first


character of a string

parse_str() Parses a query string into variables

print() Outputs one or more strings

printf() Outputs a formatted string

quoted_printable_decode() Converts a quoted-printable string to an 8-


bit string

quoted_printable_encode() Converts an 8-bit string to a quoted


printable string

quotemeta() Quotes meta characters

rtrim() Removes whitespace or other characters


from the right side of a string

setlocale() Sets locale information

sha1() Calculates the SHA-1 hash of a string

sha1_file() Calculates the SHA-1 hash of a file

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similar_text() Calculates the similarity between two


strings

soundex() Calculates the soundex key of a string

sprintf() Writes a formatted string to a variable

sscanf() Parses input from a string according to a


format

str_getcsv() Parses a CSV string into an array

str_ireplace() Replaces some characters in a string (case-


insensitive)

str_pad() Pads a string to a new length

str_repeat() Repeats a string a specified number of


times

str_replace() Replaces some characters in a string (case-


sensitive)

str_rot13() Performs the ROT13 encoding on a string

str_shuffle() Randomly shuffles all characters in a string

str_split() Splits a string into an array

str_word_count() Count the number of words in a string

strcasecmp() Compares two strings (case-insensitive)

strchr() Finds the first occurrence of a string inside


another string (alias of strstr())

strcmp() Compares two strings (case-sensitive)

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strcoll() Compares two strings (locale based string


comparison)

strcspn() Returns the number of characters found in


a string before any part of some specified
characters are found

strip_tags() Strips HTML and PHP tags from a string

stripcslashes() Unquotes a string quoted with


addcslashes()

stripslashes() Unquotes a string quoted with addslashes()

stripos() Returns the position of the first occurrence


of a string inside another string (case-
insensitive)

stristr() Finds the first occurrence of a string inside


another string (case-insensitive)

strlen() Returns the length of a string

strnatcasecmp() Compares two strings using a "natural


order" algorithm (case-insensitive)

strnatcmp() Compares two strings using a "natural


order" algorithm (case-sensitive)

strncasecmp() String comparison of the first n characters


(case-insensitive)

strncmp() String comparison of the first n characters


(case-sensitive)

strpbrk() Searches a string for any of a set of


characters

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strpos() Returns the position of the first occurrence


of a string inside another string (case-
sensitive)

strrchr() Finds the last occurrence of a string inside


another string

strrev() Reverses a string

strripos() Finds the position of the last occurrence of


a string inside another string (case-
insensitive)

strrpos() Finds the position of the last occurrence of


a string inside another string (case-
sensitive)

strspn() Returns the number of characters found in


a string that contains only characters from
a specified charlist

strstr() Finds the first occurrence of a string inside


another string (case-sensitive)

strtok() Splits a string into smaller strings

strtolower() Converts a string to lowercase letters

strtoupper() Converts a string to uppercase letters

strtr() Translates certain characters in a string

substr() Returns a part of a string

substr_compare() Compares two strings from a specified start


position (binary safe and optionally case-
sensitive)

substr_count() Counts the number of times a substring


occurs in a string

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substr_replace() Replaces a part of a string with another


string

trim() Removes whitespace or other characters


from both sides of a string

ucfirst() Converts the first character of a string to


uppercase

ucwords() Converts the first character of each word in


a string to uppercase

vfprintf() Writes a formatted string to a specified


output stream

vprintf() Outputs a formatted string

vsprintf() Writes a formatted string to a variable

wordwrap() Wraps a string to a given number of


characters

PHP 5 Constants
Constants are like variables except that once they are defined they cannot be changed
or undefined.

PHP Constants
A constant is an identifier (name) for a simple value. The value cannot be changed
during the script.

A valid constant name starts with a letter or underscore (no $ sign before the constant
name).

Note: Unlike variables, constants are automatically global across the entire script.

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Create a PHP Constant


To create a constant, use the define() function.

Syntax
define(name, value, case-insensitive)

Parameters:

 name: Specifies the name of the constant


 value: Specifies the value of the constant
 case-insensitive: Specifies whether the constant name should be case-
insensitive. Default is false

The example below creates a constant with a case-sensitive name:

Example
<?php
define("GREETING", "Welcome to W3Schools.com!");
echo GREETING;
?>

Run example »

The example below creates a constant with a case-insensitive name:

Example
<?php
define("GREETING", "Welcome to W3Schools.com!", true);
echo greeting;
?>

Run example »

Constants are Global


Constants are automatically global and can be used across the entire script.

The example below uses a constant inside a function, even if it is defined outside the
function:

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Example
<?php
define("GREETING", "Welcome to W3Schools.com!");

function myTest() {
echo GREETING;
}

myTest();
?>

PHP 5 Operators
This chapter shows the different operators that can be used in PHP scripts.

PHP Arithmetic Operators


The arithmetic operators are used with numeric values to perform common arithmetical
operations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication etc.

Here is a complete list of PHP's arithmetic operators:

Operator Name Example Result Show


it

+ Addition $x + $y Sum of $x and $y

- Subtraction $x - $y Difference of $x and $y

* Multiplication $x * $y Product of $x and $y

/ Division $x / $y Quotient of $x and $y

% Modulus $x % $y Remainder of $x divided by $y

** Exponentiation $x ** $y Result of raising $x to the $y'th power


(Introduced in PHP 5.6)

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PHP Assignment Operators


The assignment operators are used with numeric values to write a value to a variable.

The basic assignment operator in PHP is "=". It means that the left operand gets set to
the value of the assignment expression on the right.

Assignment Same as... Description Show


it

x=y x=y The left operand gets set to the value of the
expression on the right

x += y x=x+y Addition

x -= y x=x-y Subtraction

x *= y x=x*y Multiplication

x /= y x=x/y Division

x %= y x=x%y Modulus

PHP String Operators


The string operators are used with strings.

Operator Name Example Result

. Concatenation $txt1 = "Hello" Now $txt2 contains "Hello


$txt2 = $txt1 . " world!"
world!"

.= Concatenation $txt1 = "Hello" Now $txt1 contains "Hello


assignment $txt1 .= " world!" world!"

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The example below shows the results of using the string operators:

Example
<?php
$a = "Hello";
$b = $a . " world!";
echo $b; // outputs Hello world!

$x = "Hello";
$x .= " world!";
echo $x; // outputs Hello world!
?>

Run example »

PHP Increment / Decrement Operators


Operator Name Description

++$x Pre-increment Increments $x by one, then returns $x

$x++ Post-increment Returns $x, then increments $x by one

--$x Pre-decrement Decrements $x by one, then returns $x

$x-- Post- Returns $x, then decrements $x by one


decrement

The example below shows the different results of using the different
increment/decrement operators:

Example
<?php
$x = 10;
echo ++$x; // outputs 11

$y = 10;
echo $y++; // outputs 10

$z = 5;

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echo --$z; // outputs 4

$i = 5;
echo $i--; // outputs 5
?>

Run example »

PHP Comparison Operators


The PHP comparison operators are used to compare two values (number or string):

Operator Name Example Result

== Equal $x == $y True if $x is equal to $y

=== Identical $x === $y True if $x is equal to $y, and they are of


the same type

!= Not equal $x != $y True if $x is not equal to $y

<> Not equal $x <> $y True if $x is not equal to $y

!== Not identical $x !== $y True if $x is not equal to $y, or they are
not of the same type

> Greater than $x > $y True if $x is greater than $y

< Less than $x < $y True if $x is less than $y

>= Greater than or $x >= $y True if $x is greater than or equal to $y


equal to

<= Less than or equal $x <= $y True if $x is less than or equal to $y


to

The example below shows the different results of using some of the comparison
operators:

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Example
<?php
$x = 100;
$y = "100";

var_dump($x == $y);
echo "<br>";
var_dump($x === $y);
echo "<br>";
var_dump($x != $y);
echo "<br>";
var_dump($x !== $y);
echo "<br>";

$a = 50;
$b = 90;

var_dump($a > $b);


echo "<br>";
var_dump($a < $b);
?>

Run example »

PHP Logical Operators


Operator Name Example Result

And And $x and $y True if both $x and $y are true

Or Or $x or $y True if either $x or $y is true

Xor Xor $x xor $y True if either $x or $y is true, but


not both

&& And $x && $y True if both $x and $y are true

|| Or $x || $y True if either $x or $y is true

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! Not !$x True if $x is not true

PHP Array Operators


The PHP array operators are used to compare arrays:

Operator Name Example Result

+ Union $x + $y Union of $x and $y (but duplicate keys are not


overwritten)

== Equality $x == $y True if $x and $y have the same key/value pairs

=== Identity $x === True if $x and $y have the same key/value pairs in
$y the same order and of the same types

!= Inequality $x != $y True if $x is not equal to $y

<> Inequality $x <> $y True if $x is not equal to $y

!== Non- $x !== $y True if $x is not identical to $y


identity

The example below shows the different results of using the different array operators:

Example
<?php
$x = array("a" => "red", "b" => "green");
$y = array("c" => "blue", "d" => "yellow");
$z = $x + $y; // union of $x and $y

var_dump($z);
var_dump($x == $y);
var_dump($x === $y);
var_dump($x != $y);
var_dump($x <> $y);
var_dump($x !== $y);
?>

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PHP 5 if...else...elseif Statements


onditional statements are used to perform different actions based on different
conditions.

PHP Conditional Statements


Very often when you write code, you want to perform different actions for different
decisions. You can use conditional statements in your code to do this.

In PHP we have the following conditional statements:

 if statement - executes some code only if a specified condition is true


 if...else statement - executes some code if a condition is true and another code
if the condition is false
 if...elseif....else statement - specifies a new condition to test if the first
condition is false
 switch statement - selects one of many blocks of code to be executed

PHP - The if Statement


The if statement is used to execute some code only if a specified condition is true.

Syntax
if (condition) {
code to be executed if condition is true;
}

The example below will output "Have a good day!" if the current time (HOUR) is less
than 20:

Example
<?php
$t = date("H");

if ($t < "20") {


echo "Have a good day!";
}
?>

Run example »

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PHP - The if...else Statement


Use the if....else statement to execute some code if a condition is true and another
code if the condition is false.

Syntax
if (condition) {
code to be executed if condition is true;
} else {
code to be executed if condition is false;
}

The example below will output "Have a good day!" if the current time is less than 20,
and "Have a good night!" otherwise:

Example
<?php
$t = date("H");

if ($t < "20") {


echo "Have a good day!";
} else {
echo "Have a good night!";
}
?>

Run example »

PHP - The if...elseif....else Statement


Use the if....elseif...else statement to specify a new condition to test if the first
condition is false.

Syntax
if (condition) {
code to be executed if condition is true;
} elseif (condition) {
code to be executed if condition is true;

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} else {
code to be executed if condition is false;
}

The example below will output "Have a good morning!" if the current time is less than
10, and "Have a good day!" if the current time is less than 20. Otherwise it will output
"Have a good night!":

Example
<?php
$t = date("H");

if ($t < "10") {


echo "Have a good morning!";
} elseif ($t < "20") {
echo "Have a good day!";
} else {
echo "Have a good night!";
}
?>

Run example »

PHP 5 switch Statement


The PHP switch Statement
Use the switch statement to select one of many blocks of code to be executed.

Syntax
switch (n) {
case label1:
code to be executed if n=label1;
break;
case label2:
code to be executed if n=label2;
break;
case label3:
code to be executed if n=label3;
break;
...
default:
code to be executed if n is different from all labels;
}

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This is how it works: First we have a single expression n (most often a variable), that is
evaluated once. The value of the expression is then compared with the values for each
case in the structure. If there is a match, the block of code associated with that case is
executed. Use break to prevent the code from running into the next case
automatically. The default statement is used if no match is found.

Example
<?php
$favcolor = "red";

switch ($favcolor) {
case "red":
echo "Your favorite color is red!";
break;
case "blue":
echo "Your favorite color is blue!";
break;
case "green":
echo "Your favorite color is green!";
break;
default:
echo "Your favorite color is neither red, blue, or green!";
}
?>

PHP 5 while Loops


PHP while loops execute a block of code while the specified condition is true.

PHP Loops
Often when you write code, you want the same block of code to run over and over
again in a row. Instead of adding several almost equal code-lines in a script, we can use
loops to perform a task like this.

In PHP, we have the following looping statements:

 while - loops through a block of code as long as the specified condition is true
 do...while - loops through a block of code once, and then repeats the loop as
long as the specified condition is true
 for - loops through a block of code a specified number of times
 foreach - loops through a block of code for each element in an array

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The PHP while Loop


The while loop executes a block of code as long as the specified condition is true.

Syntax
while (condition is true) {
code to be executed;
}

The example below first sets a variable $x to 1 ($x = 1). Then, the while loop will
continue to run as long as $x is less than, or equal to 5 ($x <= 5). $x will increase by 1
each time the loop runs ($x++):

Example
<?php
$x = 1;

while($x <= 5) {
echo "The number is: $x <br>";
$x++;
}
?>

Run example »

The PHP do...while Loop


The do...while loop will always execute the block of code once, it will then check the
condition, and repeat the loop while the specified condition is true.

Syntax
do {
code to be executed;
} while (condition is true);

The example below first sets a variable $x to 1 ($x = 1). Then, the do while loop will
write some output, and then increment the variable $x with 1. Then the condition is
checked (is $x less than, or equal to 5?), and the loop will continue to run as long as $x
is less than, or equal to 5:

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Example
<?php
$x = 1;

do {
echo "The number is: $x <br>";
$x++;
} while ($x <= 5);
?>

Notice that in a do while loop the condition is tested AFTER executing the statements
within the loop. This means that the do while loop would execute its statements at least
once, even if the condition is false the first time.

The example below sets the $x variable to 6, then it runs the loop, and then the
condition is checked:

Example
<?php
$x = 6;

do {
echo "The number is: $x <br>";
$x++;
} while ($x<=5);
?>

PHP 5 for Loops


PHP for loops execute a block of code a specified number of times.

The PHP for Loop


The for loop is used when you know in advance how many times the script should run.

Syntax
for (init counter; test counter; increment counter) {
code to be executed;
}

Parameters:

 init counter: Initialize the loop counter value

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 test counter: Evaluated for each loop iteration. If it evaluates to TRUE, the loop
continues. If it evaluates to FALSE, the loop ends.
 increment counter: Increases the loop counter value

The example below displays the numbers from 0 to 10:

Example
<?php
for ($x = 0; $x <= 10; $x++) {
echo "The number is: $x <br>";
}
?>

Run example »

The PHP foreach Loop


The foreach loop works only on arrays, and is used to loop through each key/value pair
in an array.

Syntax
foreach ($array as $value) {
code to be executed;
}

For every loop iteration, the value of the current array element is assigned to $value
and the array pointer is moved by one, until it reaches the last array element.

The following example demonstrates a loop that will output the values of the given
array ($colors):

Example
<?php
$colors = array("red", "green", "blue", "yellow");

foreach ($colors as $value) {


echo "$value <br>";
}
?>

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PHP 5 Functions
The real power of PHP comes from its functions; it has more than 1000 built-in
functions.

PHP User Defined Functions


Besides the built-in PHP functions, we can create our own functions.

A function is a block of statements that can be used repeatedly in a program.

A function will not execute immediately when a page loads.

A function will be executed by a call to the function.

Create a User Defined Function in PHP


A user defined function declaration starts with the word "function":

Syntax
function functionName() {
code to be executed;
}

Note: A function name can start with a letter or underscore (not a number).

Tip: Give the function a name that reflects what the function does!

Function names are NOT case-sensitive.

In the example below, we create a function named "writeMsg()". The opening curly
brace ( { ) indicates the beginning of the function code and the closing curly brace ( } )
indicates the end of the function. The function outputs "Hello world!". To call the
function, just write its name:

Example
<?php
function writeMsg() {

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echo "Hello world!";


}

writeMsg(); // call the function


?>

Run example »

PHP Function Arguments


Information can be passed to functions through arguments. An argument is just like a
variable.

Arguments are specified after the function name, inside the parentheses. You can add
as many arguments as you want, just seperate them with a comma.

The following example has a function with one argument ($fname). When the
familyName() function is called, we also pass along a name (e.g. Jani), and the name is
used inside the function, which outputs several different first names, but an equal last
name:

Example
<?php
function familyName($fname) {
echo "$fname Refsnes.<br>";
}

familyName("Jani");
familyName("Hege");
familyName("Stale");
familyName("Kai Jim");
familyName("Borge");
?>

Run example »

The following example has a function with two arguments ($fname and $year):

Example
<?php
function familyName($fname, $year) {

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echo "$fname Refsnes. Born in $year <br>";


}

familyName("Hege", "1975");
familyName("Stale", "1978");
familyName("Kai Jim", "1983");
?>

Run example »

PHP Default Argument Value


The following example shows how to use a default parameter. If we call the function
setHeight() without arguments it takes the default value as argument:

Example
<?php
function setHeight($minheight = 50) {
echo "The height is : $minheight <br>";
}

setHeight(350);
setHeight(); // will use the default value of 50
setHeight(135);
setHeight(80);
?>

Run example »

PHP Functions - Returning values


To let a function return a value, use the return statement:

Example
<?php
function sum($x, $y) {
$z = $x + $y;
return $z;

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echo "5 + 10 = " . sum(5, 10) . "<br>";


echo "7 + 13 = " . sum(7, 13) . "<br>";
echo "2 + 4 = " . sum(2, 4);
?>

PHP 5 Arrays
An array stores multiple values in one single variable:

Example
<?php
$cars = array("Volvo", "BMW", "Toyota");
echo "I like " . $cars[0] . ", " . $cars[1] . " and " . $cars[2] . ".";
?>

Run example »

What is an Array?
An array is a special variable, which can hold more than one value at a time.

If you have a list of items (a list of car names, for example), storing the cars in single
variables could look like this:

$cars1 = "Volvo";
$cars2 = "BMW";
$cars3 = "Toyota";

However, what if you want to loop through the cars and find a specific one? And what if
you had not 3 cars, but 300?

The solution is to create an array!

An array can hold many values under a single name, and you can access the values by
referring to an index number.

Create an Array in PHP


In PHP, the array() function is used to create an array:

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array();

In PHP, there are three types of arrays:

 Indexed arrays - Arrays with a numeric index


 Associative arrays - Arrays with named keys
 Multidimensional arrays - Arrays containing one or more arrays

PHP Indexed Arrays


There are two ways to create indexed arrays:

The index can be assigned automatically (index always starts at 0), like this:

$cars = array("Volvo", "BMW", "Toyota");

or the index can be assigned manually:

$cars[0] = "Volvo";
$cars[1] = "BMW";
$cars[2] = "Toyota";

The following example creates an indexed array named $cars, assigns three elements
to it, and then prints a text containing the array values:

Example
<?php
$cars = array("Volvo", "BMW", "Toyota");
echo "I like " . $cars[0] . ", " . $cars[1] . " and " . $cars[2] . ".";
?>

Run example »

Get The Length of an Array - The count() Function


The count() function is used to return the length (the number of elements) of an array:

Example
<?php
$cars = array("Volvo", "BMW", "Toyota");

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echo count($cars);
?>

Run example »

Loop Through an Indexed Array


To loop through and print all the values of an indexed array, you could use a for loop,
like this:

Example
<?php
$cars = array("Volvo", "BMW", "Toyota");
$arrlength = count($cars);

for($x = 0; $x < $arrlength; $x++) {


echo $cars[$x];
echo "<br>";
}
?>

Run example »

PHP Associative Arrays


Associative arrays are arrays that use named keys that you assign to them.

There are two ways to create an associative array:

$age = array("Peter"=>"35", "Ben"=>"37", "Joe"=>"43");

or:

$age['Peter'] = "35";
$age['Ben'] = "37";
$age['Joe'] = "43";

The named keys can then be used in a script:

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Example
<?php
$age = array("Peter"=>"35", "Ben"=>"37", "Joe"=>"43");
echo "Peter is " . $age['Peter'] . " years old.";
?>

Loop Through an Associative Array


To loop through and print all the values of an associative array, you could use a foreach
loop, like this:

Example
<?php
$age = array("Peter"=>"35", "Ben"=>"37", "Joe"=>"43");

foreach($age as $x => $x_value) {


echo "Key=" . $x . ", Value=" . $x_value;
echo "<br>";
}
?>

PHP 5 Array Functions


PHP Array Introduction
The array functions allow you to access and manipulate arrays.

Simple and multi-dimensional arrays are supported.

Installation
The array functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use
these functions.

PHP 5 Array Functions


Function Description

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array() Creates an array

array_change_key_case() Changes all keys in an array to lowercase or uppercase

array_chunk() Splits an array into chunks of arrays

array_column() Returns the values from a single column in the input array

array_combine() Creates an array by using the elements from one "keys"


array and one "values" array

array_count_values() Counts all the values of an array

array_diff() Compare arrays, and returns the differences (compare


values only)

array_diff_assoc() Compare arrays, and returns the differences (compare


keys and values)

array_diff_key() Compare arrays, and returns the differences (compare


keys only)

array_diff_uassoc() Compare arrays, and returns the differences (compare


keys and values, using a user-defined key comparison
function)

array_diff_ukey() Compare arrays, and returns the differences (compare


keys only, using a user-defined key comparison function)

array_fill() Fills an array with values

array_fill_keys() Fills an array with values, specifying keys

array_filter() Filters the values of an array using a callback function

array_flip() Flips/Exchanges all keys with their associated values in an


array

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array_intersect() Compare arrays, and returns the matches (compare values


only)

array_intersect_assoc() Compare arrays and returns the matches (compare keys


and values)

array_intersect_key() Compare arrays, and returns the matches (compare keys


only)

array_intersect_uassoc() Compare arrays, and returns the matches (compare keys


and values, using a user-defined key comparison function)

array_intersect_ukey() Compare arrays, and returns the matches (compare keys


only, using a user-defined key comparison function)

array_key_exists() Checks if the specified key exists in the array

array_keys() Returns all the keys of an array

array_map() Sends each value of an array to a user-made function,


which returns new values

array_merge() Merges one or more arrays into one array

array_merge_recursive() Merges one or more arrays into one array recursively

array_multisort() Sorts multiple or multi-dimensional arrays

array_pad() Inserts a specified number of items, with a specified value,


to an array

array_pop() Deletes the last element of an array

array_product() Calculates the product of the values in an array

array_push() Inserts one or more elements to the end of an array

array_rand() Returns one or more random keys from an array

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array_reduce() Returns an array as a string, using a user-defined function

array_replace() Replaces the values of the first array with the values from
following arrays

array_replace_recursive() Replaces the values of the first array with the values from
following arrays recursively

array_reverse() Returns an array in the reverse order

array_search() Searches an array for a given value and returns the key

array_shift() Removes the first element from an array, and returns the
value of the removed element

array_slice() Returns selected parts of an array

array_splice() Removes and replaces specified elements of an array

array_sum() Returns the sum of the values in an array

array_udiff() Compare arrays, and returns the differences (compare


values only, using a user-defined key comparison function)

array_udiff_assoc() Compare arrays, and returns the differences (compare


keys and values, using a built-in function to compare the
keys and a user-defined function to compare the values)

array_udiff_uassoc() Compare arrays, and returns the differences (compare


keys and values, using two user-defined key comparison
functions)

array_uintersect() Compare arrays, and returns the matches (compare values


only, using a user-defined key comparison function)

array_uintersect_assoc() Compare arrays, and returns the matches (compare keys


and values, using a built-in function to compare the keys
and a user-defined function to compare the values)

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array_uintersect_uassoc() Compare arrays, and returns the matches (compare keys


and values, using two user-defined key comparison
functions)

array_unique() Removes duplicate values from an array

array_unshift() Adds one or more elements to the beginning of an array

array_values() Returns all the values of an array

array_walk() Applies a user function to every member of an array

array_walk_recursive() Applies a user function recursively to every member of an


array

arsort() Sorts an associative array in descending order, according


to the value

asort() Sorts an associative array in ascending order, according to


the value

compact() Create array containing variables and their values

count() Returns the number of elements in an array

current() Returns the current element in an array

each() Returns the current key and value pair from an array

end() Sets the internal pointer of an array to its last element

extract() Imports variables into the current symbol table from an


array

in_array() Checks if a specified value exists in an array

key() Fetches a key from an array

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krsort() Sorts an associative array in descending order, according


to the key

ksort() Sorts an associative array in ascending order, according to


the key

list() Assigns variables as if they were an array

natcasesort() Sorts an array using a case insensitive "natural order"


algorithm

natsort() Sorts an array using a "natural order" algorithm

next() Advance the internal array pointer of an array

pos() Alias of current()

prev() Rewinds the internal array pointer

range() Creates an array containing a range of elements

reset() Sets the internal pointer of an array to its first element

rsort() Sorts an indexed array in descending order

shuffle() Shuffles an array

sizeof() Alias of count()

sort() Sorts an indexed array in ascending order

uasort() Sorts an array by values using a user-defined comparison


function

uksort() Sorts an array by keys using a user-defined comparison


function

usort() Sorts an array using a user-defined comparison function

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PHP 5 Sorting Arrays


The elements in an array can be sorted in alphabetical or numerical order, descending
or ascending.

PHP - Sort Functions For Arrays


In this chapter, we will go through the following PHP array sort functions:

 sort() - sort arrays in ascending order


 rsort() - sort arrays in descending order
 asort() - sort associative arrays in ascending order, according to the value
 ksort() - sort associative arrays in ascending order, according to the key
 arsort() - sort associative arrays in descending order, according to the value
 krsort() - sort associative arrays in descending order, according to the key

Sort Array in Ascending Order - sort()


The following example sorts the elements of the $cars array in ascending alphabetical
order:

Example
<?php
$cars = array("Volvo", "BMW", "Toyota");
sort($cars);
?>

Run example »

The following example sorts the elements of the $numbers array in ascending
numerical order:

Example
<?php
$numbers = array(4, 6, 2, 22, 11);
sort($numbers);
?>

Run example »

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Sort Array in Descending Order - rsort()


The following example sorts the elements of the $cars array in descending alphabetical
order:

Example
<?php
$cars = array("Volvo", "BMW", "Toyota");
rsort($cars);
?>

Run example »

The following example sorts the elements of the $numbers array in descending
numerical order:

Example
<?php
$numbers = array(4, 6, 2, 22, 11);
rsort($numbers);
?>

Run example »

Sort Array in Ascending Order, According to Value


- asort()
The following example sorts an associative array in ascending order, according to the
value:

Example
<?php
$age = array("Peter"=>"35", "Ben"=>"37", "Joe"=>"43");
asort($age);
?>

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Run example »

Sort Array in Ascending Order, According to Key -


ksort()
The following example sorts an associative array in ascending order, according to the
key:

Example
<?php
$age = array("Peter"=>"35", "Ben"=>"37", "Joe"=>"43");
ksort($age);
?>

Run example »

Sort Array in Descending Order, According to


Value - arsort()
The following example sorts an associative array in descending order, according to the
value:

Example
<?php
$age = array("Peter"=>"35", "Ben"=>"37", "Joe"=>"43");
arsort($age);
?>

Run example »

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Sort Array in Descending Order, According to Key


- krsort()
The following example sorts an associative array in descending order, according to the
key:

Example
<?php
$age = array("Peter"=>"35", "Ben"=>"37", "Joe"=>"43");
krsort($age);
?>

PHP 5 Global Variables - Superglobals


PHP Global Variables - Superglobals
Several predefined variables in PHP are "superglobals", which means that they are
always accessible, regardless of scope - and you can access them from any function,
class or file without having to do anything special.

The PHP superglobal variables are:

 $GLOBALS
 $_SERVER
 $_REQUEST
 $_POST
 $_GET
 $_FILES
 $_ENV
 $_COOKIE
 $_SESSION

This chapter will explain some of the superglobals, and the rest will be explained in
later chapters.

PHP $GLOBALS
$GLOBALS is a PHP super global variable which is used to access global variables from
anywhere in the PHP script (also from within functions or methods).

PHP stores all global variables in an array called $GLOBALS[index]. The index holds the
name of the variable.

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The example below shows how to use the super global variable $GLOBALS:

Example
<?php
$x = 75;
$y = 25;

function addition() {
$GLOBALS['z'] = $GLOBALS['x'] + $GLOBALS['y'];
}

addition();
echo $z;
?>

Run example »

In the example above, since z is a variable present within the $GLOBALS array, it is
also accessible from outside the function!

PHP $_SERVER
$_SERVER is a PHP super global variable which holds information about headers, paths,
and script locations.

The example below shows how to use some of the elements in $_SERVER:

Example
<?php
echo $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME'];
?>

Run example »

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The following table lists the most important elements that can go inside $_SERVER:

Element/Code Description

$_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] Returns the filename of the currently executing script

$_SERVER['GATEWAY_INTERFACE'] Returns the version of the Common Gateway Interface (CGI)


using

$_SERVER['SERVER_ADDR'] Returns the IP address of the host server

$_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'] Returns the name of the host server (such as www.w3schools

$_SERVER['SERVER_SOFTWARE'] Returns the server identification string (such as Apache/2.2.2

$_SERVER['SERVER_PROTOCOL'] Returns the name and revision of the information protocol (su
HTTP/1.1)

$_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] Returns the request method used to access the page (such as

$_SERVER['REQUEST_TIME'] Returns the timestamp of the start of the request (such as 13

$_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] Returns the query string if the page is accessed via a query st

$_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT'] Returns the Accept header from the current request

$_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT_CHARSET'] Returns the Accept_Charset header from the current request


8,ISO-8859-1)

$_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] Returns the Host header from the current request

$_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'] Returns the complete URL of the current page (not reliable be
user-agents support it)

$_SERVER['HTTPS'] Is the script queried through a secure HTTP protocol

$_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] Returns the IP address from where the user is viewing the cur

$_SERVER['REMOTE_HOST'] Returns the Host name from where the user is viewing the cu

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$_SERVER['REMOTE_PORT'] Returns the port being used on the user's machine to commun
the web server

$_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME'] Returns the absolute pathname of the currently executing scr

$_SERVER['SERVER_ADMIN'] Returns the value given to the SERVER_ADMIN directive in th


configuration file (if your script runs on a virtual host, it will b
defined for that virtual host) (such as someone@w3schools.co

$_SERVER['SERVER_PORT'] Returns the port on the server machine being used by the we
communication (such as 80)

$_SERVER['SERVER_SIGNATURE'] Returns the server version and virtual host name which are ad
server-generated pages

$_SERVER['PATH_TRANSLATED'] Returns the file system based path to the current script

$_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME'] Returns the path of the current script

$_SERVER['SCRIPT_URI'] Returns the URI of the current page

PHP $_REQUEST
PHP $_REQUEST is used to collect data after submitting an HTML form.

The example below shows a form with an input field and a submit button. When a user
submits the data by clicking on "Submit", the form data is sent to the file specified in
the action attribute of the <form> tag. In this example, we point to this file itself for
processing form data. If you wish to use another PHP file to process form data, replace
that with the filename of your choice. Then, we can use the super global variable
$_REQUEST to collect the value of the input field:

Example
<html>
<body>

<form method="post" action="<?php echo $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];?>">


Name: <input type="text" name="fname">
<input type="submit">
</form>

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<?php
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
// collect value of input field
$name = $_REQUEST['fname'];
if (empty($name)) {
echo "Name is empty";
} else {
echo $name;
}
}
?>

</body>
</html>

Run example »

PHP $_POST
PHP $_POST is widely used to collect form data after submitting an HTML form with
method="post". $_POST is also widely used to pass variables.

The example below shows a form with an input field and a submit button. When a user
submits the data by clicking on "Submit", the form data is sent to the file specified in
the action attribute of the <form> tag. In this example, we point to the file itself for
processing form data. If you wish to use another PHP file to process form data, replace
that with the filename of your choice. Then, we can use the super global variable
$_POST to collect the value of the input field:

Example
<html>
<body>

<form method="post" action="<?php echo $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];?>">


Name: <input type="text" name="fname">
<input type="submit">
</form>

<?php
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
// collect value of input field
$name = $_POST['fname'];

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if (empty($name)) {
echo "Name is empty";
} else {
echo $name;
}
}
?>

</body>
</html>

Run example »

PHP $_GET
PHP $_GET can also be used to collect form data after submitting an HTML form with
method="get".

$_GET can also collect data sent in the URL.

Assume we have an HTML page that contains a hyperlink with parameters:

<html>
<body>

<a href="test_get.php?subject=PHP&web=W3schools.com">Test $GET</a>

</body>
</html>

When a user clicks on the link "Test $GET", the parameters "subject" and "web" is sent
to "test_get.php", and you can then acces their values in "test_get.php" with $_GET.

The example below shows the code in "test_get.php":

Example
<html>
<body>

<?php
echo "Study " . $_GET['subject'] . " at " . $_GET['web'];
?>

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</body>
</html>

Run example »

PHP Global Variables - Superglobals


Several predefined variables in PHP are "superglobals", which means that they are
always accessible, regardless of scope - and you can access them from any function,
class or file without having to do anything special.

The PHP superglobal variables are:

 $GLOBALS
 $_SERVER
 $_REQUEST
 $_POST
 $_GET
 $_FILES
 $_ENV
 $_COOKIE
 $_SESSION

This chapter will explain some of the superglobals, and the rest will be explained in
later chapters.

PHP $GLOBALS
$GLOBALS is a PHP super global variable which is used to access global variables from
anywhere in the PHP script (also from within functions or methods).

PHP stores all global variables in an array called $GLOBALS[index]. The index holds the
name of the variable.

The example below shows how to use the super global variable $GLOBALS:

Example
<?php
$x = 75;
$y = 25;

function addition() {
$GLOBALS['z'] = $GLOBALS['x'] + $GLOBALS['y'];
}

62 | P a g e NKS
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addition();
echo $z;
?>

Run example »

In the example above, since z is a variable present within the $GLOBALS array, it is
also accessible from outside the function!

PHP $_SERVER
$_SERVER is a PHP super global variable which holds information about headers, paths,
and script locations.

The example below shows how to use some of the elements in $_SERVER:

Example
<?php
echo $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME'];
?>

Run example »

The following table lists the most important elements that can go inside $_SERVER:

Element/Code Description

$_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] Returns the filename of the currently executing script

63 | P a g e NKS
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$_SERVER['GATEWAY_INT Returns the version of the Common Gateway Interface (CGI)


ERFACE'] the server is using

$_SERVER['SERVER_ADDR Returns the IP address of the host server


']

$_SERVER['SERVER_NAME Returns the name of the host server (such as


'] www.w3schools.com)

$_SERVER['SERVER_SOFT Returns the server identification string (such as


WARE'] Apache/2.2.24)

$_SERVER['SERVER_PROT Returns the name and revision of the information protocol


OCOL'] (such as HTTP/1.1)

$_SERVER['REQUEST_MET Returns the request method used to access the page (such as
HOD'] POST)

$_SERVER['REQUEST_TIM Returns the timestamp of the start of the request (such as


E'] 1377687496)

$_SERVER['QUERY_STRIN Returns the query string if the page is accessed via a query
G'] string

$_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT' Returns the Accept header from the current request


]

$_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT Returns the Accept_Charset header from the current request


_CHARSET'] (such as utf-8,ISO-8859-1)

$_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] Returns the Host header from the current request

$_SERVER['HTTP_REFERE Returns the complete URL of the current page (not reliable
R'] because not all user-agents support it)

$_SERVER['HTTPS'] Is the script queried through a secure HTTP protocol

$_SERVER['REMOTE_ADD Returns the IP address from where the user is viewing the
R'] current page

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$_SERVER['REMOTE_HOS Returns the Host name from where the user is viewing the
T'] current page

$_SERVER['REMOTE_PORT Returns the port being used on the user's machine to


'] communicate with the web server

$_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILEN Returns the absolute pathname of the currently executing


AME'] script

$_SERVER['SERVER_ADMI Returns the value given to the SERVER_ADMIN directive in the


N'] web server configuration file (if your script runs on a virtual
host, it will be the value defined for that virtual host) (such as
someone@w3schools.com)

$_SERVER['SERVER_PORT Returns the port on the server machine being used by the web
'] server for communication (such as 80)

$_SERVER['SERVER_SIGN Returns the server version and virtual host name which are
ATURE'] added to server-generated pages

$_SERVER['PATH_TRANSL Returns the file system based path to the current script
ATED']

$_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME' Returns the path of the current script


]

$_SERVER['SCRIPT_URI'] Returns the URI of the current page

PHP $_REQUEST
PHP $_REQUEST is used to collect data after submitting an HTML form.

The example below shows a form with an input field and a submit button. When a user
submits the data by clicking on "Submit", the form data is sent to the file specified in
the action attribute of the <form> tag. In this example, we point to this file itself for
processing form data. If you wish to use another PHP file to process form data, replace
that with the filename of your choice. Then, we can use the super global variable
$_REQUEST to collect the value of the input field:

65 | P a g e NKS
BKC Unit VI: Programming Structure of PHP

Example
<html>
<body>

<form method="post" action="<?php echo $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];?>">


Name: <input type="text" name="fname">
<input type="submit">
</form>

<?php
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
// collect value of input field
$name = $_REQUEST['fname'];
if (empty($name)) {
echo "Name is empty";
} else {
echo $name;
}
}
?>

</body>
</html>

PHP $_POST
PHP $_POST is widely used to collect form data after submitting an HTML form with
method="post". $_POST is also widely used to pass variables.

The example below shows a form with an input field and a submit button. When a user
submits the data by clicking on "Submit", the form data is sent to the file specified in
the action attribute of the <form> tag. In this example, we point to the file itself for
processing form data. If you wish to use another PHP file to process form data, replace
that with the filename of your choice. Then, we can use the super global variable
$_POST to collect the value of the input field:

Example
<html>
<body>

<form method="post" action="<?php echo $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];?>">


Name: <input type="text" name="fname">
<input type="submit">
</form>

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<?php
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
// collect value of input field
$name = $_POST['fname'];
if (empty($name)) {
echo "Name is empty";
} else {
echo $name;
}
}
?>

</body>
</html>

Run example »

PHP $_GET
PHP $_GET can also be used to collect form data after submitting an HTML form with
method="get".

$_GET can also collect data sent in the URL.

Assume we have an HTML page that contains a hyperlink with parameters:

<html>
<body>

<a href="test_get.php?subject=PHP&web=W3schools.com">Test $GET</a>

</body>
</html>

When a user clicks on the link "Test $GET", the parameters "subject" and "web" is sent
to "test_get.php", and you can then acces their values in "test_get.php" with $_GET.

The example below shows the code in "test_get.php":

Example
<html>
<body>

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<?php
echo "Study " . $_GET['subject'] . " at " . $_GET['web'];
?>

</body>
</html>

68 | P a g e NKS

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