PHP Operators
PHP Operators
Operators are special symbols 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 operators
PHP Arithmetic Operators
The arithmetic operators are used with numeric values to perform common mathematical operations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication etc.
| Operator | Name | Example | Result | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| + | Addition | $x + $y | Sum of $x and $y | Try it » |
| - | Subtraction | $x - $y | Difference of $x and $y | Try it » |
| * | Multiplication | $x * $y | Product of $x and $y | Try it » |
| / | Division | $x / $y | Quotient of $x and $y | Try it » |
| % | Modulus | $x % $y | Remainder of $x divided by $y | Try it » |
| ** | Exponentiation | $x ** $y | Result of raising $x to the $y'th power | Try it » |
PHP Assignment Operators
The assignment operators are used with numeric values to assign values to variables.
| Assignment | Same as... | Description | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|
| $x = $y | $x = $y | Assign (the left operand is set to the value of the expression on the right) | Try it » |
| $x += $y | $x = $x + $y | Add and assign | Try it » |
| $x -= $y | $x = $x - $y | Subtract and assign | Try it » |
| $x *= $y | $x = $x * $y | Multiply and assign | Try it » |
| $x /= $y | $x = $x / $y | Divide and assign | Try it » |
| $x %= $y | $x = $x % $y | Modulus and assign | Try it » |
PHP Comparison Operators
The comparison operators are used to compare two values (number or string) and return a boolean result.
| Operator | Name | Example | Result | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| == | Equal | $x == $y | Returns true if $x is equal to $y | Try it » |
| === | Identical | $x === $y | Returns true if $x is equal to $y, and they are of the same type | Try it » |
| != | Not equal | $x != $y | Returns true if $x is not equal to $y | Try it » |
| <> | Not equal | $x <> $y | Returns true if $x is not equal to $y | Try it » |
| !== | Not identical | $x !== $y | Returns true if $x is not equal to $y, or they are not of the same type | Try it » |
| > | Greater than | $x > $y | Returns true if $x is greater than $y | Try it » |
| < | Less than | $x < $y | Returns true if $x is less than $y | Try it » |
| >= | Greater than or equal to | $x >= $y | Returns true if $x is greater than or equal to $y | Try it » |
| <= | Less than or equal to | $x <= $y | Returns true if $x is less than or equal to $y | Try it » |
| <=> | Spaceship | $x <=> $y | Returns an integer less than, equal to, or greater than zero, depending on if $x is less than, equal to, or greater than $y. Introduced in PHP 7. | Try it » |
PHP Increment / Decrement Operators
The increment/decrement operators are used to increment or decrement a variable's value by one.
| Operator | Same as... | Description | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|
| ++$x | Pre-increment | Increments $x by one, then returns $x | Try it » |
| $x++ | Post-increment | Returns $x, then increments $x by one | Try it » |
| --$x | Pre-decrement | Decrements $x by one, then returns $x | Try it » |
| $x-- | Post-decrement | Returns $x, then decrements $x by one | Try it » |
PHP Logical Operators
The logical operators are used to combine conditional statements and return a boolean result.
| Operator | Name | Example | Result | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| and | And | $x and $y | True if both $x and $y are true | Try it » |
| or | Or | $x or $y | True if either $x or $y is true | Try it » |
| xor | Xor | $x xor $y | True if either $x or $y is true, but not both | Try it » |
| && | And | $x && $y | True if both $x and $y are true | Try it » |
| || | Or | $x || $y | True if either $x or $y is true | Try it » |
| ! | Not | !$x | True if $x is not true | Try it » |
PHP String Operators
The string operators are used to concatenate strings.
| Operator | Name | Example | Result | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| . | Concatenation | $txt1 . $txt2 | Concatenation of $txt1 and $txt2 | Try it » |
| .= | Concatenation assignment | $txt1 .= $txt2 | Appends $txt2 to $txt1 | Try it » |
PHP Array Operators
The array operators are used to compare arrays.
| Operator | Name | Example | Result | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| + | Union | $x + $y | Union of $x and $y | Try it » |
| == | Equality | $x == $y | Returns true if $x and $y have the same key/value pairs | Try it » |
| === | Identity | $x === $y | Returns true if $x and $y have the same key/value pairs in the same order and of the same types | Try it » |
| != | Inequality | $x != $y | Returns true if $x is not equal to $y | Try it » |
| <> | Inequality | $x <> $y | Returns true if $x is not equal to $y | Try it » |
| !== | Non-identity | $x !== $y | Returns true if $x is not identical to $y | Try it » |
PHP Conditional Operators
The conditional operators are used to set a value depending on conditions (shorthand for if...else):
| Operator | Name | Example | Result | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ?: | Ternary | $x = expr1 ? expr2 : expr3 | Returns the value of $x. The value of $x is expr2 if expr1 = TRUE. The value of $x is expr3 if expr1 = FALSE |
Try it » |
| ?? | Null coalescing | $x = expr1 ?? expr2 | Returns the value of $x. 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 |
Try it » |
