PHP W3schools Tutorial

PHP Introduction
PHP code is executed on the server.
What You Should Already Know

Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:
HTML
CSS
If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on our Home page.
What is PHP?
PHP stands 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 simple for beginners.
PHP also offers many advanced features for professional programmers.
What is a PHP File?
PHP files can contain text, HTML, JavaScript code, and PHP code
PHP code are executed on the server, and the result is returned to the
browser as plain HTML
PHP files have a default file extension of ".php"
What Can PHP Do?
PHP can generate dynamic page content
PHP can create, open, read, write, 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 restrict users to access some pages on your website
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 different platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, etc.)
PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.)
PHP has support for 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 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 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.
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 sends the text "Hello
World!" back to the browser:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>My first PHP page</h1>
<?php
echo "Hello World!";
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example
Each code line in PHP must end with a semicolon. The semicolon is a separator and is used to
distinguish one set of instructions from another.
With PHP, there are two basic statements to output text in the browser: echo and print.
Comments in PHP
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
//This is a PHP comment line
/*
This is
a PHP comment
block
*/
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example
PHP Variables
Variables are "containers" for storing information:
Example
<?php
$x=5;
$y=6;
$z=$x+$y;
echo $z;
?>
Run example
Much Like Algebra

x=5
y=6
z=x+y
In algebra we use letters (like x) to hold values (like 5).
From the expression z=x+y above, we can calculate the value of z to be 11.
In PHP these letters are called variables.
Think of variables as containers for storing data.
PHP Variables
As with algebra, PHP variables can be used to hold values (x=5) or expressions (z=x+y).
Variable can have short names (like x and y) or more descriptive names (age, carname,
totalvolume).
Rules for PHP variables:
A variable starts with the $ sign, followed by the name of the variable
A variable name must begin with a letter or the underscore character
A variable name can only contain alpha-numeric characters and underscores

(A-z, 0-9, and _ )
A variable name should not contain spaces
Variable names are case sensitive ($y and $Y are two different variables)
Both PHP statements and PHP variables are case-sensitive.
Creating (Declaring) PHP Variables

PHP has no command for declaring a variable.
A variable is created the moment you first assign a value to it:
$txt="Hello world!";
$x=5;
After the execution of the statements above, the variable txt will hold the value Hello world!,
and the variable x will hold the value 5.
Note: When you assign a text value to a variable, put quotes around the value.
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 a strongly typed programming language, we will have to declare (define) the type and name of
the variable before using it.
PHP Variable Scopes

The scope of a variable is the part of the script where the variable can be referenced/used.
PHP has four different variable scopes:
local
global
static
parameter
Local Scope
A variable declared within a PHP function is local and can only be accessed within that function:
Example
<?php
$x=5; // global scope
function myTest()
{
echo $x; // local scope
}
myTest();
?>
Run example
The script above will not produce any output because the echo statement refers to the local scope
variable $x, which has not been assigned a value within this scope.
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.
Local variables are deleted as soon as the function is completed.
Global Scope
A variable that is defined outside of any function, has a global scope.
Global variables can be accessed from any part of the script, EXCEPT from within a function.
To access a global variable from within a function, use the global keyword:
Example
<?php
$x=5; // global scope
$y=10; // global scope
function myTest()
{
global $x,$y;
$y=$x+$y;
}
myTest();
echo $y; // outputs 15
?>
Run example
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:
Example
<?php
$x=5;
$y=10;
function myTest()
{
$GLOBALS['y']=$GLOBALS['x']+$GLOBALS['y'];
}
myTest();
echo $y;
?>
Run example
Static Scope
When a function is completed, all of its variables are normally deleted. However, sometimes you
want a local variable to not be deleted.
To do this, use the static keyword when you first declare the variable:
Example
<?php
function myTest()
{
static $x=0;
echo $x;
$x++;
}
myTest();
myTest();
myTest();
?>
Run example
Then, each time the function is called, that variable will still have the information it contained
from the last time the function was called.
Note: The variable is still local to the function.
Parameter Scope
A parameter is a local variable whose value is passed to the function by the calling code.
Parameters are declared in a parameter list as part of the function declaration:
Example
<?php
function myTest($x)
{
echo $x;
}
myTest(5);
?>
Run example
Parameters are also called arguments. We will discuss it in more details in our PHP functions
chapter.
PHP String Variables
A string variable is used to store and manipulate text.
String Variables in PHP

String variables are used for values that contain characters.
After we have created a string variable we can manipulate it. A string can be used directly in a
function or it can be stored in a variable.
In the example below, we create a string variable called txt, then we assign the text "Hello
world!" to it. Then we write the value of the txt variable to the output:
Example
<?php
$txt="Hello world!";
echo $txt;
?>
Run example
Note: When you assign a text value to a variable, remember to put single or
double quotes around the value.
Now, lets look at some commonly used functions and operators to manipulate strings.
The PHP Concatenation Operator

There is only one string operator in PHP.
The concatenation operator (.) is used to join two string values together.
The example below shows how to concatenate two string variables together:
Example
<?php
$txt1="Hello world!";
$txt2="What a nice day!";
echo $txt1 . " " . $txt2;

?>
Run example
The output of the code above will be: Hello world! What a nice day!
Tip: In the code above we have used the concatenation operator two times. This is because we
wanted to insert a white space between the two strings.
The PHP strlen() function

Sometimes it is useful to know the length of a string value.
The strlen() function returns the length of a string, in characters.
The example below returns the length of the string "Hello world!":
Example
<?php
echo strlen("Hello world!");
?>
Run example
The output of the code above will be: 12

Tip: strlen() is often used in loops or other functions, when it is important to know when a string
ends. (i.e. in a loop, we might want to stop the loop after the last character in a string).
The PHP strpos() function

The strpos() function is used to search for a character or a specific 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 position of the string "world" in the example above is 6. The reason that it is 6 (and not
7), is that the first character position in the string is 0, and not 1.
Complete PHP String Reference

For a complete reference of all string functions, go to our complete PHP String Reference.
The PHP string reference contains description and example of use, for each function!
PHP Operators
The assignment operator = is used to assign values to variables in PHP.

The arithmetic operator + is used to add values together in PHP.
PHP Arithmetic Operators

Operator Name
Description
Example
Result
x+y
Addition
Sum of x and y
2+2
x-y
Subtraction
Difference of x and y
5-2
x*y
Multiplication
Product of x and y
5*2
10
x/y
Division
Quotient of x and y
15 / 5
x%y
Modulus
Remainder of x divided
by y
5%2
10 % 8
10 % 2
1
2
0
-x
Negation
Opposite of x
-2
a.b
Concatenation
Concatenate two strings "Hi" . "Ha"
HiHa
PHP Assignment Operators

The basic assignment operator in PHP is "=". It means that the left operand gets set to the value
of the expression on the right. That is, the value of "$x = 5" is 5.
Assignme
Same as...
nt
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
a .= b
a=a.b
Concatenate two strings
PHP Incrementing/Decrementing 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-decrement Returns x, then decrements x by one
PHP Comparison Operators

Comparison operators allows you to compare two values:
Operator Name
Description
Example
x == y
Equal
True if x is equal to y
5==8 returns false
x === y
Identical
True if x is equal to y, and

they are of same type
5==="5" returns false
x != y
Not equal
True if x is not equal to y
5!=8 returns true
x <> y
Not equal
5<>8 returns true
x !== y
Not identical
True if x is not equal to y, or

they are not of same type
5!=="5" returns true
x>y
Greater than
True if x is greater than y
5>8 returns false
x<y
Less than
True if x is less than y
5<8 returns true
x >= y
Greater than or True if x is greater than or

equal to
equal to y
5>=8 returns false
x <= y
Less than or
equal to
5<=8 returns true
True if x is less than or equal

to y
PHP Logical Operators

Operator Name
x and y
x or y
x xor y
x && y
Description
Example
True if both x and y are true
x=6
y=3
(x < 10 and y > 1)
returns true
Or
True if either or both x and y

are true
x=6
y=3
(x==6 or y==5) returns
true
Xor
x=6
True if either x or y is true, but y=3
not both
(x==6 xor y==3)
returns false
And
True if both x and y are true
x=6
y=3
(x < 10 && y > 1)
returns true
And
x || y
Or
True if either or both x and y

are true
x=6
y=3
(x==5 || y==5) returns
false
!x
Not
True if x is not true
x=6 y=3
!(x==y) returns true
PHP Array Operators

Operator Name
Description
x+y
Union
Union of x and y
x == y
Equality
True if x and y have the same key/value pairs
x === y
Identity
True if x and y have the same key/value pairs in the
same order and are of the same type

x != y
Inequality
x <> y
Inequality
x !== y
Non-identity
True if x is not identical to y
PHP If...Else Statements
Conditional 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...else if....else statement - selects one of several blocks of code to be

executed
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 is less than 20:
Example
<?php
$t=date("H");
if ($t<"20")
{
echo "Have a good day!";
}
?>
Run example
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)
{
}
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")
{
}
else
{
echo "Have a good night!";
}
?>
Run example
PHP - The if...else if....else Statement

Use the if....else if...else statement to select one of several blocks of code to be executed.
Syntax
if (condition)
{
}
else if (condition)
{
}
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!";
}
else if ($t<"20")
{
}
else
{
echo "Have a good night!";
}
?>
Run example
PHP - The switch Statement

The switch statement will be explained in the next chapter.
PHP Switch Statement
The switch statement is used to perform different actions based on different conditions.
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;
default:
code to be executed if n is different from both label1 and label2;
}
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
break;
case "blue":
echo "Your favorite
break;
case "green":
echo "Your favorite
break;
default:
echo "Your favorite
}
color is red!";
color is blue!";
color is green!";
color is neither red, blue, or green!";
?>
Run example
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] . ".";
?>
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:
array();
In PHP, there are three types of arrays:
Indexed arrays - Arrays with 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):
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
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
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
$arrlength=count($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:
Example
<?php
echo "Peter is " . $age['Peter'] . " years old.";
?>
Run example
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
foreach($age as $x=>$x_value)
{
echo "Key=" . $x . ", Value=" . $x_value;
echo "<br>";
}
?>
Run example
Multidimensional Arrays
Multidimensional arrays will be explained in the PHP advanced section.
Complete PHP Array Reference

For a complete reference of all array functions, go to our complete PHP Array Reference.
The reference contains a brief description, and examples of use, for each function!
PHP 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 $cars array in ascending alphabetical order:
Example
<?php
sort($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
Sort Array in Descending Order - rsort()

The following example sorts the elements of the $cars array in descending alphabetical order:
Example
<?php
rsort($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
asort($age);
?>
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
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
arsort($age);
?>
Run example
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
krsort($age);
?>
Run example
Complete PHP Array Reference

For a complete reference of all array functions, go to our complete PHP Array Reference.
The reference contains a brief description, and examples of use, for each function!

PHP W3schools Tutorial

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PHP W3schools Tutorial

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PHP Introduction

PHP code is executed on the server.

What You Should Already Know

PHP stands 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

What is a PHP File?

PHP files have a default file extension of ".php"

What Can PHP Do?

PHP can generate dynamic page content

PHP can collect form data

PHP can send and receive cookies

PHP can add, delete, modify data in your database

PHP can restrict users to access some pages on your website

PHP can encrypt data

PHP runs on different platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, etc.)

PHP has support for 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

Find a web host with PHP and MySQL support

Use a Web Host With PHP Support

Set Up PHP on Your Own PC

install a web server

install a database, such as MySQL

Basic PHP Syntax

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

Variables are "containers" for storing information:

Much Like Algebra

A variable name must begin with a letter or the underscore character

A variable name can only contain alpha-numeric characters and underscores

A variable name should not contain spaces

Creating (Declaring) PHP Variables

PHP is a Loosely Typed Language

PHP Variable Scopes

PHP String Variables

A string variable is used to store and manipulate text.

String Variables in PHP

The PHP Concatenation Operator

echo $txt1 . " " . $txt2;

The PHP strlen() function

The output of the code above will be: 12

The PHP strpos() function

The output of the code above will be: 6.

Complete PHP String Reference

The assignment operator = is used to assign values to variables in PHP.

PHP Arithmetic Operators

Concatenate two strings "Hi" . "Ha"

PHP Assignment Operators

The left operand gets set to the value of the expression

Concatenate two strings

PHP Incrementing/Decrementing Operators

Increments x by one, then returns x

Returns x, then increments x by one

Decrements x by one, then returns x

Post-decrement Returns x, then decrements x by one

PHP Comparison Operators

5==8 returns false

True if x is equal to y, and

5==="5" returns false

True if x is not equal to y

5!=8 returns true

True if x is not equal to y

5<>8 returns true

True if x is not equal to y, or

5!=="5" returns true

True if x is greater than y

5>8 returns false

True if x is less than y

5<8 returns true

Greater than or True if x is greater than or

5>=8 returns false

5<=8 returns true

True if x is less than or equal

PHP Logical Operators

True if both x and y are true