PHP Basics

Prepared By Dr. Tushar Kanti Saha

What is PHP?
 PHP is an acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor".
 PHP is a server-side and open source scripting language.
 PHP is 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.
 PHP scripts are executed on the server.
 PHP is free to download and use.
 PHP 7 is the latest stable release.

Why does PHP 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!

History of PHP

 PHP is a popular general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited to

web development.
 It was originally created by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf in
1994;
 the PHP reference implementation is now produced by The PHP Group.
 Implementation language: C (primarily; some components C++)
 Stable release: 7.4.8 / July 9, 2020; 7 days ago
 Preview release: 8.0.0 Alpha 2 / July 9, 2020; 7 days ago
 Developer: The PHP Development Team, Zend Technologies
 Typing discipline: Dynamic, weak since version 7.0: Gradual
 Designed by: Rasmus Lerdorf

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What is a PHP File?

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

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 do we need 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

What's new in PHP 7

 PHP 7 is much faster than the previous popular stable release (PHP 5.6)
 PHP 7 has improved Error Handling
 PHP 7 supports stricter Type Declarations for function arguments
 PHP 7 supports new operators (like the spaceship operator: <=> )

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What Do We Need for PHP Installation?

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

Note: We can use XAMPP Lite, WAMP to setup Apache and MySQL server at a time.

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PHP Syntax
A 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.

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:

Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>My first PHP page</h1>

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

</body>
</html>

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

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PHP Case Sensitivity

In PHP, 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 equal and legal:

Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<?php
ECHO "Hello World!<br>";
echo "Hello World!<br>";
EcHo "Hello World!<br>";
?>

</body>
</html>

Note: However; all variable names are case-sensitive!

Look at 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:

Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

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

</body>
</html>

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PHP Comments
Comments in PHP
A comment in PHP code is a line that is not executed as a 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 your code
 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:

Example
Syntax for single-line comments:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
// This is a single-line comment
# This is also a single-line comment
?>
</body>
</html>

Example
Syntax for multiple-line comments:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
/*
This is a multiple-lines comment block
that spans over multiple
lines
*/
?>
</body>
</html>

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Example
Using comments to leave out parts of the code:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

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

</body>
</html>

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PHP 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:

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

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.

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!

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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:

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

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

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

The following example will output the sum of two variables:

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

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 associates a data type to the variable, depending on its value.
Since the data types are not set in a strict sense, you can do things like adding a
string to an integer without causing an error.

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In PHP 7, type declarations were added. This gives an option to specify the data type
expected when declaring a function, and by enabling the strict requirement, it will
throw a "Fatal Error" on a type mismatch.

You will learn more about strict and non-strict requirements, and data type
declarations in the PHP Functions chapter.

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:

Example
Variable with global scope:

<?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:

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Example
Variable with local scope:
<?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>";
?>

You can have local variables with the same name in different functions, because
local variables are only 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):

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

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

myTest();
echo $y; // outputs 15
?>

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:

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

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

myTest();
echo $y; // outputs 15
?>

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:

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

myTest();
myTest();
myTest();
?>

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

Note: The variable is still local to the function.

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PHP echo and print Statements

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

In this tutorial we use echo or 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
<?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.";
?>

Display Variables

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

Example
<?php
$txt1 = "Learn PHP";
$txt2 = "W3Schools.com";
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$x = 5;
$y = 4;
echo "<h2>" . $txt1 . "</h2>";
echo "Study PHP at " . $txt2 . "<br>";
echo $x + $y;
?>

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

Display Variables

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

Example
<?php
$txt1 = "Learn PHP";
$txt2 = "W3Schools.com";
$x = 5;
$y = 4;
print "<h2>" . $txt1 . "</h2>";
print "Study PHP at " . $txt2 . "<br>";
print $x + $y;
?>

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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

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;
?>

PHP Integer
An integer data type is a non-decimal number between -2,147,483,648 and
2,147,483,647.
Rules for integers:
 An integer must have at least one digit
 An integer must not have a decimal point
 An integer can be either positive or negative
 Integers can be specified in: decimal (base 10), hexadecimal (base 16), octal
(base 8), or binary (base 2) notation

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

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

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);
?>

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:

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

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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;
?>

PHP NULL Value

 Null is a special data type which can have only one value: NULL.
 A variable of data type NULL is a variable that has no value assigned to it.

Tip: If a variable is created without a value, it is automatically assigned a value of

NULL.

Variables can also be emptied by setting the value to NULL:

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

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PHP Operators
Operators are used to perform operations on variables and values.

PHP divides the operators in the following groups:

 Arithmetic operators
 Assignment operators
 Comparison operators
 Increment/Decrement operators
 Logical operators
 String operators
 Array operators
 Conditional assignment operators

PHP Arithmetic Operators

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

Operator Name Example Result

+ 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

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PHP Assignment Operators

The PHP 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

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 Comparison Operators

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

Operator Name Example Result

== Equal $x == $y Returns true if $x is equal to $y

=== Identical $x === Returns true if $x is equal to $y,

$y and they are of the same type

!= Not equal $x != $y Returns true if $x is not equal to

$y

<> Not equal $x <> $y Returns true if $x is not equal to

$y

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!== Not identical $x !== $y Returns true if $x is not equal to

$y, or they are not of the same
type

> Greater than $x > $y Returns true if $x is greater than

$y

< Less than $x < $y Returns true if $x is less than $y

>= Greater than or $x >= $y Returns true if $x is greater than

equal to or equal to $y

<= Less than or equal $x <= $y Returns true if $x is less than or

to equal to $y

<=> Spaceship $x <=> Returns an integer less than,

$y equal to, or greater than zero,
depending on if $x is less than,
equal to, or greater than $y.
Introduced in PHP 7.

PHP Increment / Decrement Operators

The PHP increment operators are used to increment a variable's value.

The PHP decrement operators are used to decrement a variable's value.

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

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PHP Logical Operators

The PHP logical operators are used to combine conditional statements.

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

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

PHP String Operators

PHP has two operators that are specially designed for strings.

Operator Name Example Result

. Concatenation $txt1 . $txt2 Concatenation of $txt1 and $txt2

.= Concatenation $txt1 .= $txt2 Appends $txt2 to $txt1

assignment

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PHP Array Operators

The PHP array operators are used to compare arrays.

Operator Name Example Result

+ Union $x + $y Union of $x and $y

== Equality $x == $y Returns true if $x and $y have the same

key/value pairs

=== Identity $x === Returns true if $x and $y have the same

$y key/value pairs in the same order and of
the same types

!= Inequality $x != $y Returns true if $x is not equal to $y

<> Inequality $x <> $y Returns true if $x is not equal to $y

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

identity

PHP Conditional Assignment Operators

The PHP conditional assignment operators are used to set a value depending on
conditions:

Operator Name Example Result

?: Ternary $x Returns the value of $x.

= expr1 ? expr2 : expr3 The value of $x
is expr2 if expr1 = TRUE.
The value of $x
is expr3 if expr1 = FALSE

?? Null $x = expr1 ?? expr2 Returns the value of $x.

coalescing The value of $x
is expr1 if expr1 exists, and is
not NULL.
If expr1 does not exist, or is
NULL, the value of $x is expr2.
Introduced in PHP 7

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PHP Conditional Statements

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

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

In PHP we have the following conditional statements:

 if statement - executes some code if one condition is true

 if...else statement - executes some code if a condition is true and another
code if that condition is false
 if...elseif...else statement - executes different codes for more than two
conditions
 switch statement - selects one of many blocks of code to be executed

PHP - The if Statement

The if statement executes some code if one condition is true.

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

Example
Output "Have a good day!" if the current time (HOUR) is less than 20:

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

if ($t < "20") {

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

PHP - The if...else Statement

The if...else statement executes some code if a condition is true and another code
if that condition is false.

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

Example
Output "Have a good day!" if the current time is less than 20, and "Have a good
night!" otherwise:

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

if ($t < "20") {

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

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

The if...elseif...else statement executes different codes for more than two
conditions.

Syntax
if (condition) {
code to be executed if this condition is true;
} elseif (condition) {
code to be executed if first condition is false and this condition is true;
} else {
code to be executed if all conditions are false;
}

Example
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!":

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<?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!";
}
?>

The PHP switch Statement

 The switch statement is used to perform different actions based on different
conditions.
 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;
}

How does it work?

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.

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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, nor green!";
}
?>

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PHP Loops
Often when you write code, you want the same block of code to run over and over
again a certain number of times. So, instead of adding several almost equal code-
lines in a script, we can use loops.

Loops are used to execute the same block of code again and again, as long as a
certain condition is true.

In PHP, we have the following loop types:

 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

The following chapters will explain and give examples of each loop type.

The PHP while Loop

 The while loop - Loops through a block of code as long as the specified
condition is true.
 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;
}

Example:
The example below displays the numbers from 1 to 5:
<?php
$x = 1;
while($x <= 5) {
echo "The number is: $x <br>";
$x++;
}
?>

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Example Explained
 $x = 1; - Initialize the loop counter ($x), and set the start value to 1
 $x <= 5 - Continue the loop as long as $x is less than or equal to 5
 $x++; - Increase the loop counter value by 1 for each iteration

This example counts to 100 by tens:

Example
<?php
$x = 0;
while($x <= 100) {
echo "The number is: $x <br>";
$x+=10;
}
?>

Example Explained
 $x = 0; - Initialize the loop counter ($x), and set the start value to 0
 $x <= 100 - Continue the loop as long as $x is less than or equal to 100
 $x+=10; - Increase the loop counter value by 10 for each iteration

The do...while loop - Loops through a block of code once, and then repeats
the loop as long as the specified condition is true.

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);

Examples
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);
?>

Note: In a do...while loop the condition is tested AFTER executing the statements
within the loop. This means that the do...while loop will execute its statements at
least once, even if the condition is false. See example below.

This example 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 for Loop

The for loop - Loops through a block of code a specified number of times.
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 for each iteration;
}

Parameters:
 init counter: Initialize the loop counter value
 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

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Examples
The example below displays the numbers from 0 to 10:

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

Example Explained
 $x = 0; - Initialize the loop counter ($x), and set the start value to 0
 $x <= 10; - Continue the loop as long as $x is less than or equal to 10
 $x++ - Increase the loop counter value by 1 for each iteration

This example counts to 100 by tens:

Example
<?php
for ($x = 0; $x <= 100; $x+=10) {
echo "The number is: $x <br>";
}
?>

Example Explained
 $x = 0; - Initialize the loop counter ($x), and set the start value to 0
 $x <= 100; - Continue the loop as long as $x is less than or equal to 100
 $x+=10 - Increase the loop counter value by 10 for each iteration

The PHP foreach Loop

 The foreach loop works only on arrays, and is used to loop through each
key/value pair in an array.
 The foreach loop - Loops through a block of code for each element in an
array.

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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.

Examples
The following example will output the values of the given array ($colors):

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

foreach ($colors as $value) {

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

The following example will output both the keys and the values of the given array
($age):

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

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

echo "$x = $val<br>";
}
?>

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PHP Break and Continue Statements

PHP Break
You have already seen the break statement used in an earlier chapter of this
tutorial. It was used to "jump out" of a switch statement.

The break statement can also be used to jump out of a loop.

This example jumps out of the loop when x is equal to 4:

Example
<?php
for ($x = 0; $x < 10; $x++) {
if ($x == 4) {
break;
}
echo "The number is: $x <br>";
}
?>

PHP Continue
The continue statement breaks one iteration (in the loop), if a specified condition
occurs, and continues with the next iteration in the loop.
This example skips the value of 4:

Example
<?php
for ($x = 0; $x < 10; $x++) {
if ($x == 4) {
continue;
}
echo "The number is: $x <br>";
}
?>

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Break and Continue in While Loop

You can also use break and continue in while loops:

Break Example
<?php
$x = 0;
while($x < 10) {
if ($x == 4) {
break;
} echo "The number is: $x <br>";
$x++;
}
?>

Continue Example
<?php
$x = 0;
while($x < 10) {
if ($x == 4) {
$x++;
continue;
}
echo "The number is: $x <br>";
$x++;
}
?>

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PHP Functions
 The real power of PHP comes from its functions.
 PHP has more than 1000 built-in functions, and in addition you can create
your own custom functions.

PHP Built-in Functions

PHP has over 1000 built-in functions that can be called directly, from within a
script, to perform a specific task.
Please check out our PHP reference for a complete overview of the PHP built-in
functions.

PHP User Defined Functions

Besides the built-in PHP functions, it is possible to create your own functions.
 A function is a block of statements that can be used repeatedly in a program.
 A function will not execute automatically 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 must start with a letter or an underscore. 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 followed by brackets ():

Example
<?php
function writeMsg() {
echo "Hello world!";}
writeMsg(); // call the function
?>

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PHP 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] . ".";
?>

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:

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

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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
$cars = array("Volvo", "BMW", "Toyota");
echo count($cars);
?>

PHP Indexed Arrays

There are two ways to create indexed arrays:
1. The index can be assigned automatically (index always starts at 0), like this:
$cars = array("Volvo", "BMW", "Toyota");
2. 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] . ".";
?>

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");

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$arrlength = count($cars);

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

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

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:

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>";
}
?>

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PHP - Multidimensional Arrays

A multidimensional array is an array containing one or more arrays.

PHP supports multidimensional arrays that are two, three, four, five, or more levels
deep. However, arrays more than three levels deep are hard to manage for most
people.

The dimension of an array indicates the number of indices you need to

select an element.

 For a two-dimensional array you need two indices to select an element

 For a three-dimensional array you need three indices to select an element

PHP - Two-dimensional Arrays

A two-dimensional array is an array of arrays (a three-dimensional array is an
array of arrays of arrays).

First, take a look at the following table:

Name Stock Sold

Volvo 22 18

BMW 15 13

Saab 5 2

Land Rover 17 15

We can store the data from the table above in a two-dimensional array, like this:

$cars = array (
array("Volvo",22,18),
array("BMW",15,13),
array("Saab",5,2),
array("Land Rover",17,15)
);

Now the two-dimensional $cars array contains four arrays, and it has two indices:
row and column.
To get access to the elements of the $cars array we must point to the two indices
(row and column):

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Example
<?php
echo $cars[0][0].": In stock: ".$cars[0][1].", sold: ".$cars[0][2].".<br>";
echo $cars[1][0].": In stock: ".$cars[1][1].", sold: ".$cars[1][2].".<br>";
echo $cars[2][0].": In stock: ".$cars[2][1].", sold: ".$cars[2][2].".<br>";
echo $cars[3][0].": In stock: ".$cars[3][1].", sold: ".$cars[3][2].".<br>";
?>

We can also put a for loop inside another for loop to get the elements of the $cars
array (we still have to point to the two indices):

Example
<?php
for ($row = 0; $row < 4; $row++) {
echo "<p><b>Row number $row</b></p>";
echo "<ul>";
for ($col = 0; $col < 3; $col++) {
echo "<li>".$cars[$row][$col]."</li>";
}
echo "</ul>";
}
?>
To know about some array functions, visit:
https://www.w3schools.com/php/php_ref_array.asp

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PHP Global Variables - Superglobals

Some 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

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'];
}

addition();
echo $z;
?>

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

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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'];
?>

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) 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_SOFTWARE'] Returns the server identification string

(such as Apache/2.2.24)

$_SERVER['SERVER_PROTOCOL'] Returns the name and revision of the

information protocol (such as HTTP/1.1)

$_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] Returns the request method used to access

the page (such as POST)

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$_SERVER['REQUEST_TIME'] Returns the timestamp of the start of the

request (such as 1377687496)

$_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] Returns the query string if the page is

accessed via a query string

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

request

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

the current request (such as utf-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 because not all 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 current page

$_SERVER['REMOTE_HOST'] Returns the Host name from where the

user is viewing the current page

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

machine to communicate with the web
server

$_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME'] Returns the absolute pathname of the

currently executing script

$_SERVER['SERVER_ADMIN'] Returns the value given to the

SERVER_ADMIN directive in the 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)

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$_SERVER['SERVER_SIGNATURE'] Returns the server version and virtual host

name which are added to 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 a PHP super global variable which 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 $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];?>">
Name: <input type="text" name="fname">
<input type="submit">
</form>
<?php
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
// collect value of input field
$name = $_REQUEST['fname'];
if (empty($name)) {
echo "Name is empty";
} else {
echo $name;
}
}
?>
</body>
</html>
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PHP $_POST
PHP $_POST is a PHP super global variable which is 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 = $_POST['fname'];
if (empty($name)) {
echo "Name is empty";
} else {
echo $name;
}
}
?>

</body>
</html>

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PHP $_GET
PHP $_GET is a PHP super global variable which is 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" are
sent to "test_get.php", and you can then access 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'];
?>
</body>
</html>

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