PHP

What is PHP
PHP is an open-source, interpreted, and object-oriented scripting language that can
be executed at the server-side. PHP is well suited for web development. Therefore, it
is used to develop web applications (an application that executes on the server and
generates the dynamic page.).

Important points to be learned:-

o PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor.

o PHP is an interpreted language, i.e., there is no need for compilation.
o PHP is faster than other scripting languages, for example, ASP and JSP.
o PHP is a server-side scripting language, which is used to manage the dynamic
content of the website.
o PHP can be embedded into HTML.
o PHP is an object-oriented language.
o PHP is an open-source scripting language.
o PHP is simple and easy to learn language.

Why use PHP

PHP is a server-side scripting language, which is used to design the dynamic web
applications with MySQL database.

o It handles dynamic content, database as well as session tracking for the website.
o You can create sessions in PHP.
o It can access cookies variable and also set cookies.
o It helps to encrypt the data and apply validation.
o PHP supports several protocols such as HTTP, POP3, SNMP, LDAP, IMAP, and
many more.
o Using PHP language, you can control the user to access some pages of your
website.
o As PHP is easy to install and set up, this is the main reason why PHP is the best
language to learn.
 o PHP can handle the forms, such as - collect the data from users using forms,
save it into the database, and return useful information to the user. For
example - Registration form.

PHP Features
PHP is very popular language because of its simplicity and open source. There are
some important features of PHP given below:

Performance:

PHP script is executed much faster than those scripts which are written in other
languages such as JSP and ASP. PHP uses its own memory, so the server workload and
loading time is automatically reduced, which results in faster processing speed and
better performance.

Open Source:

PHP source code and software are freely available on the web. You can develop all the
versions of PHP according to your requirement without paying any cost. All its
components are free to download and use.

Familiarity with syntax:

PHP has easily understandable syntax. Programmers are comfortable coding with it.

Embedded:

PHP code can be easily embedded within HTML tags and script.

Platform Independent:

PHP is available for WINDOWS, MAC, LINUX & UNIX operating system. A PHP
application developed in one OS can be easily executed in other OS also.

Database Support:

PHP supports all the leading databases such as MySQL, SQLite, ODBC, etc.

Error Reporting -

PHP has predefined error reporting constants to generate an error notice or warning
at runtime. E.g., E_ERROR, E_WARNING, E_STRICT, E_PARSE.

Loosely Typed Language:

PHP allows us to use a variable without declaring its datatype. It will be taken
automatically at the time of execution based on the type of data it contains on its
value.

Web servers Support:

PHP is compatible with almost all local servers used today like Apache, Netscape,
Microsoft IIS, etc.

Security:

PHP is a secure language to develop the website. It consists of multiple layers of

security to prevent threads and malicious attacks.

Control:

Different programming languages require long script or code, whereas PHP can do the
same work in a few lines of code. It has maximum control over the websites like you
can make changes easily whenever you want.

A Helpful PHP Community:

It has a large community of developers who regularly updates documentation,

tutorials, online help, and FAQs. Learning PHP from the communities is one of the
significant benefits.

Web Development
PHP is widely used in web development nowadays. PHP can develop dynamic websites
easily. But you must have the basic the knowledge of following technologies for web
development as well.

o HTML
o CSS
o JavaScript
o Ajax
o XML and JSON
o jQuery

PHP Case Sensitivity

In PHP, keyword (e.g., echo, if, else, while), functions, user-defined functions, classes
are not case-sensitive. However, all variable names are case-sensitive.

In the below example, you can see that all three echo statements are equal and valid:

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

1. <!DOCTYPE>
2. <html>
3. <body>
4. <?php
5. echo "Hello world using echo </br>";
6. ECHO "Hello world using ECHO </br>";
7. EcHo "Hello world using EcHo </br>";
8. ?>
9. </body>
10. </html>

Output:

Hello world using echo

Hello world using ECHO
Hello world using EcHo

Look at the below example that the variable names are case sensitive. You can see the
example below that only the second statement will display the value of the $color
variable. Because it treats $color, $ColoR, and $COLOR as three different variables:

1. <html>
2. <body>
3. <?php
4. $color = "black";
5. echo "My car is ". $ColoR ."</br>";
6. echo "My dog is ". $color ."</br>";
7. echo "My Phone is ". $COLOR ."</br>";
8. ?>
9. </body>
10. </html>

Output:

Notice: Undefined variable: ColoR in D:\xampp\htdocs\program\p2.php on line 8

My car is
My dog is black

Notice: Undefined variable: COLOR in D:\xampp\htdocs\program\p2.php on line 10

My Phone is

Only $color variable has printed its value, and other variables $ColoR and $COLOR are
declared as undefined variables. An error has occurred in line 5 and line 7.

PHP echo and print Statements

We frequently use the echo statement to display the output. There are two basic ways
to get the output in PHP:

o echo
o print

echo and print are language constructs, and they never behave like a function.
Therefore, there is no requirement for parentheses. However, both the statements can
be used with or without parentheses. We can use these statements to output variables
or strings.

Difference between echo and print

echo
o echo is a statement, which is used to display the output.
o echo can be used with or without parentheses.
o echo does not return any value.
o We can pass multiple strings separated by comma (,) in echo.
o echo is faster than print statement.

print
o print is also a statement, used as an alternative to echo at many times to display the
output.
o print can be used with or without parentheses.
o print always returns an integer value, which is 1.
o Using print, we cannot pass multiple arguments.
o print is slower than echo statement.
You can see the difference between echo and print statements with the help of the
following programs.

For Example (Check multiple arguments)

You can pass multiple arguments separated by a comma (,) in echo. It will not generate
any syntax error.

1. <?php
2. $fname = "Gunjan";
3. $lname = "Garg";
4. echo "My name is: ".$fname,$lname;
5. ?>

Output:

It will generate a syntax error because of multiple arguments in a print statement.

1. <?php
2. $fname = "Gunjan";
3. $lname = "Garg";
4. print "My name is: ".$fname,$lname;
5. ?>

Output:

For Example (Check Return Value)

echo statement does not return any value. It will generate an error if you try to display
its return value.

1. <?php
 2. $lang = "PHP";
3. $ret = echo $lang." is a web development language.";
4. echo "</br>";
5. echo "Value return by print statement: ".$ret;
6. ?>

Output:

As we already discussed that print returns a value, which is always 1.

1. <?php
2. $lang = "PHP";
3. $ret = print $lang." is a web development language.";
4. print "</br>";
5. print "Value return by print statement: ".$ret;
6. ?>

Output:

PHP Variables
<="" p="" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: inter-regular, system-ui, -apple-system,
BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size:
16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400;
letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows:
2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color:
rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-
color: initial;">

In PHP, a variable is declared using a $ sign followed by the variable name. Here, some
important points to know about variables:
 o As PHP is a loosely typed language, so we do not need to declare the data types of the
variables. It automatically analyzes the values and makes conversions to its correct
datatype.
o After declaring a variable, it can be reused throughout the code.
o Assignment Operator (=) is used to assign the value to a variable.

Syntax of declaring a variable in PHP is given below:

1. $variablename=value;

Rules for declaring PHP variable:

o A variable must start with a dollar ($) sign, followed by the variable name.
o It can only contain alpha-numeric character and underscore (A-z, 0-9, _).
o A variable name must start with a letter or underscore (_) character.
o A PHP variable name cannot contain spaces.
o One thing to be kept in mind that the variable name cannot start with a number or
special symbols.
o PHP variables are case-sensitive, so $name and $NAME both are treated as different
variable.

PHP Variable: Declaring string, integer, and float

Let's see the example to store string, integer, and float values in PHP variables.

File: variable1.php

1. <?php
2. $str="hello string";
3. $x=200;
4. $y=44.6;
5. echo "string is: $str <br/>";
6. echo "integer is: $x <br/>";
7. echo "float is: $y <br/>";
8. ?>

Output:

string is: hello string

integer is: 200
float is: 44.6
PHP Variable Scope
The scope of a variable is defined as its range in the program under which it can be
accessed. In other words, "The scope of a variable is the portion of the program within
which it is defined and can be accessed."

PHP has three types of variable scopes:

1. Local variable
2. Global variable
3. Static variable

Local variable
The variables that are declared within a function are called local variables for that
function. These local variables have their scope only in that particular function in which
they are declared. This means that these variables cannot be accessed outside the
function, as they have local scope.

A variable declaration outside the function with the same name is completely different
from the variable declared inside the function. Let's understand the local variables with
the help of an example:

File: local_variable1.php

1. <?php
2. function local_var()
3. {
4. $num = 45; //local variable
5. echo "Local variable declared inside the function is: ". $num;
6. }
7. local_var();
8. ?>

Output:

Local variable declared inside the function is: 45

File: local_variable2.php

1. <?php
2. function mytest()
3. {
 4. $lang = "PHP";
5. echo "Web development language: " .$lang;
6. }
7. mytest();
8. //using $lang (local variable) outside the function will generate an error
9. echo $lang;
10. ?>

Output:

Web development language: PHP

Notice: Undefined variable: lang in D:\xampp\htdocs\program\p3.php on line
28

Global variable
The global variables are the variables that are declared outside the function. These
variables can be accessed anywhere in the program. To access the global variable
within a function, use the GLOBAL keyword before the variable. However, these
variables can be directly accessed or used outside the function without any keyword.
Therefore there is no need to use any keyword to access a global variable outside the
function.

Let's understand the global variables with the help of an example:

Example:
File: global_variable1.php

1. <?php
2. $name = "Sanaya Sharma"; //Global Variable
3. function global_var()
4. {
5. global $name;
6. echo "Variable inside the function: ". $name;
7. echo "</br>";
8. }
9. global_var();
10. echo "Variable outside the function: ". $name;
11. ?>

Output:
Variable inside the function: Sanaya Sharma
Variable outside the function: Sanaya Sharma
Note: Without using the global keyword, if you try to access a global variable inside
the function, it will generate an error that the variable is undefined.
Example:
File: global_variable2.php

1. <?php
2. $name = "Sanaya Sharma"; //global variable
3. function global_var()
4. {
5. echo "Variable inside the function: ". $name;
6. echo "</br>";
7. }
8. global_var();
9. ?>

Output:

Notice: Undefined variable: name in D:\xampp\htdocs\program\p3.php on line

6
Variable inside the function:

Using $GLOBALS instead of global

Another way to use the global variable inside the function is predefined $GLOBALS
array.

Example:

File: global_variable3.php

1. <?php
2. $num1 = 5; //global variable
3. $num2 = 13; //global variable
4. function global_var()
5. {
6. $sum = $GLOBALS['num1'] + $GLOBALS['num2'];
7. echo "Sum of global variables is: " .$sum;
8. }
9. global_var();
10. ?>

Output:
Sum of global variables is: 18

If two variables, local and global, have the same name, then the local variable has
higher priority than the global variable inside the function.

Example:

File: global_variable2.php

1. <?php
2. $x = 5;
3. function mytest()
4. {
5. $x = 7;
6. echo "value of x: " .$x;
7. }
8. mytest();
9. ?>

Output:

Value of x: 7
Note: local variable has higher priority than the global variable.

Static variable
It is a feature of PHP to delete the variable, once it completes its execution and memory
is freed. Sometimes we need to store a variable even after completion of function
execution. Therefore, another important feature of variable scoping is static variable.
We use the static keyword before the variable to define a variable, and this variable is
called as static variable.

Static variables exist only in a local function, but it does not free its memory after the
program execution leaves the scope. Understand it with the help of an example:

Example:
File: static_variable.php

1. <?php
2. function static_var()
3. {
4. static $num1 = 3; //static variable
5. $num2 = 6; //Non-static variable
 6. //increment in non-static variable
7. $num1++;
8. //increment in static variable
9. $num2++;
10. echo "Static: " .$num1 ."</br>";
11. echo "Non-static: " .$num2 ."</br>";
12. }
13.
14. //first function call
15. static_var();
16.
17. //second function call
18. static_var();
19. ?>

Output:

Static: 4
Non-static: 7
Static: 5
Non-static: 7

You have to notice that $num1 regularly increments after each function call, whereas
$num2 does not. This is why because $num1 is not a static variable, so it freed its
memory after the execution of each function call.

PHP $ and $$ Variables

The $var (single dollar) is a normal variable with the name var that stores any value
like string, integer, float, etc.

The $$var (double dollar) is a reference variable that stores the value of the $variable inside
it.

To understand the difference better, let's see some examples.

Example 1
1. <?php
2. $x = "abc";
3. $$x = 200;
4. echo $x."<br/>";
 5. echo $$x."<br/>";
6. echo $abc;
7. ?>

Output:

PauseNext

Unmute

Current Time 0:14

Duration 18:10

Loaded: 5.50%
Â

Fullscreen
ADVERTISEMENT

In the above example, we have assigned a value to the variable x as abc. Value of
reference variable $$x is assigned as 200.

Now we have printed the values $x, $$x and $abc.

PHP Data Types

PHP data types are used to hold different types of data or values. PHP supports 8
primitive data types that can be categorized further in 3 types:

1. Scalar Types (predefined)

 2. Compound Types (user-defined)
3. Special Types

PHP Data Types: Scalar Types

It holds only single value. There are 4 scalar data types in PHP.

1. boolean
2. integer
3. float
4. string

PHP Data Types: Compound Types

It can hold multiple values. There are 2 compound data types in PHP.

1. array
2. object

PHP Data Types: Special Types

There are 2 special data types in PHP.

1. resource
2. NULL

PHP Boolean
Booleans are the simplest data type works like switch. It holds only two values: TRUE
(1) or FALSE (0). It is often used with conditional statements. If the condition is correct,
it returns TRUE otherwise FALSE.

Example:

1. <?php
2. if (TRUE)
3. echo "This condition is TRUE.";
4. if (FALSE)
5. echo "This condition is FALSE.";
 6. ?>

Output:

This condition is TRUE.

PHP Integer
Integer means numeric data with a negative or positive sign. It holds only whole
numbers, i.e., numbers without fractional part or decimal points.

Rules for integer:

o An integer can be either positive or negative.

o An integer must not contain decimal point.
o Integer can be decimal (base 10), octal (base 8), or hexadecimal (base 16).
o The range of an integer must be lie between 2,147,483,648 and 2,147,483,647 i.e., -
2^31 to 2^31.

Example:

1. <?php
2. $dec1 = 34;
3. $oct1 = 0243;
4. $hexa1 = 0x45;
5. echo "Decimal number: " .$dec1. "</br>";
6. echo "Octal number: " .$oct1. "</br>";
7. echo "HexaDecimal number: " .$hexa1. "</br>";
8. ?>

Output:

Decimal number: 34
Octal number: 163
HexaDecimal number: 69

PHP Float
A floating-point number is a number with a decimal point. Unlike integer, it can hold
numbers with a fractional or decimal point, including a negative or positive sign.

Example:
 1. <?php
2. $n1 = 19.34;
3. $n2 = 54.472;
4. $sum = $n1 + $n2;
5. echo "Addition of floating numbers: " .$sum;
6. ?>

Output:

Addition of floating numbers: 73.812

PHP String
A string is a non-numeric data type. It holds letters or any alphabets, numbers, and
even special characters.

String values must be enclosed either within single quotes or in double quotes. But
both are treated differently. To clarify this, see the example below:

Example:

1. <?php
2. $company = "Javatpoint";
3. //both single and double quote statements will treat different
4. echo "Hello $company";
5. echo "</br>";
6. echo 'Hello $company';
7. ?>

Output:

Hello Javatpoint
Hello $company

PHP Array
An array is a compound data type. It can store multiple values of same data type in a
single variable.

Example:

1. <?php
2. $bikes = array ("Royal Enfield", "Yamaha", "KTM");
 3. var_dump($bikes); //the var_dump() function returns the datatype and valu
es
4. echo "</br>";
5. echo "Array Element1: $bikes[0] </br>";
6. echo "Array Element2: $bikes[1] </br>";
7. echo "Array Element3: $bikes[2] </br>";
8. ?>

Output:

array(3) { [0]=> string(13) "Royal Enfield" [1]=> string(6) "Yamaha" [2]=>

string(3) "KTM" }
Array Element1: Royal Enfield
Array Element2: Yamaha
Array Element3: KTM

You will learn more about array in later chapters of this tutorial.

PHP object
Objects are the instances of user-defined classes that can store both values and
functions. They must be explicitly declared.

Example:

1. <?php
2. class bike {
3. function model() {
4. $model_name = "Royal Enfield";
5. echo "Bike Model: " .$model_name;
6. }
7. }
8. $obj = new bike();
9. $obj -> model();
10. ?>

Output:

Bike Model: Royal Enfield

This is an advanced topic of PHP, which we will discuss later in detail.

PHP Resource
Resources are not the exact data type in PHP. Basically, these are used to store some
function calls or references to external PHP resources. For example - a database call.
It is an external resource.

This is an advanced topic of PHP, so we will discuss it later in detail with examples.

PHP Null
Null is a special data type that has only one value: NULL. There is a convention of
writing it in capital letters as it is case sensitive.

The special type of data type NULL defined a variable with no value.

Example:

1. <?php
2. $nl = NULL;
3. echo $nl; //it will not give any output
4. ?>

Output:

PHP Operators
PHP Operator is a symbol i.e used to perform operations on operands. In simple words,
operators are used to perform operations on variables or values. For example:

1. $num=10+20;//+ is the operator and 10,20 are operands

In the above example, + is the binary + operator, 10 and 20 are operands and $num
is variable.

PHP Operators can be categorized in following forms:

o Arithmetic Operators
o Assignment Operators
o Bitwise Operators
o Comparison Operators
o Incrementing/Decrementing Operators
 o Logical Operators
o String Operators
o Array Operators
o Type Operators
o Execution Operators
o Error Control Operators

We can also categorize operators on behalf of operands. They can be categorized in 3

forms:

o Unary Operators: works on single operands such as ++, -- etc.

o Binary Operators: works on two operands such as binary +, -, *, / etc.
o Ternary Operators: works on three operands such as "?:".

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

Operator Name Example Explanation

+ Addition $a + $b Sum of operands

- Subtraction $a - $b Difference of ope

* Multiplication $a * $b Product of operan

/ Division $a / $b Quotient of opera

% Modulus $a % $b Remainder of ope

** Exponentiation $a ** $b $a raised to the p

The exponentiation (**) operator has been introduced in PHP 5.6.

Assignment Operators
The assignment operators are used to assign value to different variables. The basic
assignment operator is "=".

Operator Name Example Explanation

= Assign $a = $b The value of right operand is assigned to

+= Add then Assign $a += $b Addition same as $a = $a + $b

-= Subtract then Assign $a -= $b Subtraction same as $a = $a - $b

*= Multiply then Assign $a *= $b Multiplication same as $a = $a * $b

/= Divide then Assign $a /= $b Find quotient same as $a = $a / $b

(quotient)

%= Divide then Assign $a %= $b Find remainder same as $a = $a % $b

(remainder)

Bitwise Operators
The bitwise operators are used to perform bit-level operations on operands. These
operators allow the evaluation and manipulation of specific bits within the integer.

Operator Name Example Explanation

& And $a & $b Bits that are 1 in both $a and $b are set to

| Or (Inclusive or) $a | $b Bits that are 1 in either $a or $b are set to 1

^ Xor (Exclusive or) $a ^ $b Bits that are 1 in either $a or $b are set to 0

~ Not ~$a Bits that are 1 set to 0 and bits that are 0 ar
 << Shift left $a << $b Left shift the bits of operand $a $b steps

>> Shift right $a >> $b Right shift the bits of $a operand by $b num

Comparison Operators
Comparison operators allow comparing two values, such as number or string. Below
the list of comparison operators are given:

Operator Name Example Explanation

== Equal $a == $b Return TRUE if $a is equal to $b

=== Identical $a === $b Return TRUE if $a is equal to $b, and they are

!== Not identical $a !== $b Return TRUE if $a is not equal to $b, and they

!= Not equal $a != $b Return TRUE if $a is not equal to $b

<> Not equal $a <> $b Return TRUE if $a is not equal to $b

< Less than $a < $b Return TRUE if $a is less than $b

> Greater than $a > $b Return TRUE if $a is greater than $b

<= Less than or equal to $a <= $b Return TRUE if $a is less than or equal $b

>= Greater than or equal to $a >= $b Return TRUE if $a is greater than or equal $b

<=> Spaceship $a <=>$b Return -1 if $a

Return 0 if $a
Return 1 if $a is greater than $b

Incrementing/Decrementing Operators
The increment and decrement operators are used to increase and decrease the value
of a variable.

Operator Name Example Explanation

++ Increment ++$a Increment the value of $a by one, then retu

$a++ Return $a, then increment the value of $a b

-- decrement --$a Decrement the value of $a by one, then ret

$a-- Return $a, then decrement the value of $a b

Logical Operators
The logical operators are used to perform bit-level operations on operands. These
operators allow the evaluation and manipulation of specific bits within the integer.

Operator Name Example Explanation

and And $a and $b Return TRUE if both $a and $b are true

Or Or $a or $b Return TRUE if either $a or $b is true

xor Xor $a xor $b Return TRUE if either $ or $b is true but not b

! Not ! $a Return TRUE if $a is not true

&& And $a && $b Return TRUE if either $a and $b are true

|| Or $a || $b Return TRUE if either $a or $b is true

String Operators
The string operators are used to perform the operation on strings. There are two string
operators in PHP, which are given below:

Operator Name Example Explanation

. Concatenation $a . $b Concatenate both $a and $b

.= Concatenation and $a .= $b First concatenate $a and $b, then assign the co

Assignment . $b

Array Operators
The array operators are used in case of array. Basically, these operators are used to
compare the values of arrays.

Operator Name Example Explanation

+ Union $a + $y Union of $a and $b

== Equality $a == $b Return TRUE if $a and $b have same key/value pair

!= Inequality $a != $b Return TRUE if $a is not equal to $b

=== Identity $a === $b Return TRUE if $a and $b have same key/value pair of sam

!== Non-Identity $a !== $b Return TRUE if $a is not identical to $b

<> Inequality $a <> $b Return TRUE if $a is not equal to $b

Type Operators
The type operator instanceof is used to determine whether an object, its parent and
its derived class are the same type or not. Basically, this operator determines which
certain class the object belongs to. It is used in object-oriented programming.
 1. <?php
2. //class declaration
3. class Developer
4. {}
5. class Programmer
6. {}
7. //creating an object of type Developer
8. $charu = new Developer();
9.
10. //testing the type of object
11. if( $charu instanceof Developer)
12. {
13. echo "Charu is a developer.";
14. }
15. else
16. {
17. echo "Charu is a programmer.";
18. }
19. echo "</br>";
20. var_dump($charu instanceof Developer); //It will return true.
21. var_dump($charu instanceof Programmer); //It will return false.
22. ?>

Output:

Charu is a developer.
bool(true) bool(false)

Execution Operators
PHP has an execution operator backticks (``). PHP executes the content of backticks
as a shell command. Execution operator and shell_exec() give the same result.

Operator Name Example Explanation

`` backticks echo `dir`; Execute the shell command a

Here, it will show the directories available in curren
Note: Note that backticks (``) are not single-quotes.

Error Control Operators

PHP has one error control operator, i.e., at (@) symbol. Whenever it is used with an
expression, any error message will be ignored that might be generated by that
expression.

Operator Name Example Expl

@ at @file ('non_existent_file') Inten

PHP Operators Precedence

Let's see the precedence of PHP operators with associativity.

Operators Additional Information

clone new clone and new

[ array()

** arithmetic

++ -- ~ (int) (float) (string) (array) (object) (bool) @ increment/decrement and types

instanceof types

! logical (negation)

*/% arithmetic

+-. arithmetic and string concatenation

<< >> bitwise (shift)

 < <= > >= comparison

== != === !== <> comparison

& bitwise AND

^ bitwise XOR

| bitwise OR

&& logical AND

|| logical OR

?: ternary

= += -= *= **= /= .= %= &= |= ^= <<= >>= => assignment

and logical

xor logical

or logical

, many uses (comma)

PHP Functions
PHP function is a piece of code that can be reused many times. It can take input as
argument list and return value. There are thousands of built-in functions in PHP.

In PHP, we can define Conditional function, Function within

Function and Recursive function also.

Advantage of PHP Functions

Code Reusability: PHP functions are defined only once and can be invoked many
times, like in other programming languages.

Less Code: It saves a lot of code because you don't need to write the logic many times.
By the use of function, you can write the logic only once and reuse it.

PlayNext

Unmute

Current Time 0:02

Duration 18:10

Loaded: 3.30%
Â

Fullscreen
ADVERTISEMENT

Easy to understand: PHP functions separate the programming logic. So it is easier to

understand the flow of the application because every logic is divided in the form of
functions.

PHP User-defined Functions

We can declare and call user-defined functions easily. Let's see the syntax to declare
user-defined functions.

Syntax

1. function functionname(){
2. //code to be executed
3. }
Note: Function name must be start with letter and underscore only like other labels
in PHP. It can't be start with numbers or special symbols.

PHP Functions Example

File: function1.php

1. <?php
2. function sayHello(){
3. echo "Hello PHP Function";
4. }
5. sayHello();//calling function
6. ?>

Output:

Hello PHP Function

PHP Function Arguments

We can pass the information in PHP function through arguments which is separated
by comma.

PHP supports Call by Value (default), Call by Reference, Default argument

values and Variable-length argument list.

Let's see the example to pass single argument in PHP function.

File: functionarg.php

1. <?php
2. function sayHello($name){
3. echo "Hello $name<br/>";
4. }
5. sayHello("Sonoo");
6. sayHello("Vimal");
7. sayHello("John");
8. ?>

Output:

Hello Sonoo
Hello Vimal
Hello John

Let's see the example to pass two argument in PHP function.

File: functionarg2.php
 1. <?php
2. function sayHello($name,$age){
3. echo "Hello $name, you are $age years old<br/>";
4. }
5. sayHello("Sonoo",27);
6. sayHello("Vimal",29);
7. sayHello("John",23);
8. ?>

Output:

Hello Sonoo, you are 27 years old

Hello Vimal, you are 29 years old
Hello John, you are 23 years old

PHP Call By Reference

Value passed to the function doesn't modify the actual value by default (call by value).
But we can do so by passing value as a reference.

By default, value passed to the function is call by value. To pass value as a reference,
you need to use ampersand (&) symbol before the argument name.

Let's see a simple example of call by reference in PHP.

File: functionref.php

1. <?php
2. function adder(&$str2)
3. {
4. $str2 .= 'Call By Reference';
5. }
6. $str = 'Hello ';
7. adder($str);
8. echo $str;
9. ?>

Output:

Hello Call By Reference

PHP Function: Default Argument Value

We can specify a default argument value in function. While calling PHP function if you
don't specify any argument, it will take the default argument. Let's see a simple
example of using default argument value in PHP function.

File: functiondefaultarg.php

1. <?php
2. function sayHello($name="Sonoo"){
3. echo "Hello $name<br/>";
4. }
5. sayHello("Rajesh");
6. sayHello();//passing no value
7. sayHello("John");
8. ?>

Output:

Hello Rajesh
Hello Sonoo
Hello John

PHP If Else
PHP if else statement is used to test condition. There are various ways to use if
statement in PHP.

o if
o if-else
o if-else-if
o nested if

PHP If Statement
PHP if statement allows conditional execution of code. It is executed if condition is
true.

If statement is used to executes the block of code exist inside the if statement only if
the specified condition is true.

Syntax

1. if(condition){
2. //code to be executed
 3. }

Flowchart

Example

1. <?php
2. $num=12;
3. if($num<100){
4. echo "$num is less than 100";
5. }
6. ?>

Output:

12 is less than 100

PHP If-else Statement

PHP if-else statement is executed whether condition is true or false.

If-else statement is slightly different from if statement. It executes one block of code if
the specified condition is true and another block of code if the condition is false.

Syntax

1. if(condition){
2. //code to be executed if true
3. }else{
4. //code to be executed if false
5. }

Flowchart

Example

1. <?php
 2. $num=12;
3. if($num%2==0){
4. echo "$num is even number";
5. }else{
6. echo "$num is odd number";
7. }
8. ?>

Output:

12 is even number

PHP If-else-if Statement

The PHP if-else-if is a special statement used to combine multiple if?.else statements.
So, we can check multiple conditions using this statement.

Syntax

1. if (condition1){
2. //code to be executed if condition1 is true
3. } elseif (condition2){
4. //code to be executed if condition2 is true
5. } elseif (condition3){
6. //code to be executed if condition3 is true
7. ....
8. } else{
9. //code to be executed if all given conditions are false
10. }

Flowchart
Example

1. <?php
2. $marks=69;
3. if ($marks<33){
4. echo "fail";
5. }
6. else if ($marks>=34 && $marks<50) {
7. echo "D grade";
8. }
9. else if ($marks>=50 && $marks<65) {
10. echo "C grade";
11. }
12. else if ($marks>=65 && $marks<80) {
13. echo "B grade";
14. }
15. else if ($marks>=80 && $marks<90) {
16. echo "A grade";
17. }
 18. else if ($marks>=90 && $marks<100) {
19. echo "A+ grade";
20. }
21. else {
22. echo "Invalid input";
23. }
24. ?>

Output:

B Grade

PHP nested if Statement

The nested if statement contains the if block inside another if block. The inner if
statement executes only when specified condition in outer if statement is true.

Syntax

1. if (condition) {
2. //code to be executed if condition is true
3. if (condition) {
4. //code to be executed if condition is true
5. }
6. }

Flowchart
Example

1. <?php
2. $age = 23;
3. $nationality = "Indian";
4. //applying conditions on nationality and age
5. if ($nationality == "Indian")
6. {
7. if ($age >= 18) {
8. echo "Eligible to give vote";
9. }
10. else {
11. echo "Not eligible to give vote";
12. }
13. }
14. ?>
Output:

Eligible to give vote

PHP Switch Example

1. <?php
2. $a = 34; $b = 56; $c = 45;
3. if ($a < $b) {
4. if ($a < $c) {
5. echo "$a is smaller than $b and $c";
6. }
7. }
8. ?>

Output:

34 is smaller than 56 and 45

PHP Switch
PHP switch statement is used to execute one statement from multiple conditions. It
works like PHP if-else-if statement.

Syntax
1. switch(expression){
2. case value1:
3. //code to be executed
4. break;
5. case value2:
6. //code to be executed
7. break;
8. ......
9. default:
10. code to be executed if all cases are not matched;
11. }
Important points to be noticed about switch case:
1. The default is an optional statement. Even it is not important, that default must always
be the last statement.
 2. There can be only one default in a switch statement. More than one default may lead
to a Fatal error.
3. Each case can have a break statement, which is used to terminate the sequence of
statement.
4. The break statement is optional to use in switch. If break is not used, all the statements
will execute after finding matched case value.
5. PHP allows you to use number, character, string, as well as functions in switch
expression.
6. Nesting of switch statements is allowed, but it makes the program more complex and
less readable.
7. You can use semicolon (;) instead of colon (:). It will not generate any error.

PHP Switch Flowchart

PHP Switch Example
1. <?php
2. $num=20;
3. switch($num){
4. case 10:
5. echo("number is equals to 10");
6. break;
7. case 20:
8. echo("number is equal to 20");
9. break;
10. case 30:
11. echo("number is equal to 30");
12. break;
13. default:
14. echo("number is not equal to 10, 20 or 30");
15. }
16. ?>

Output:

number is equal to 20

PHP switch statement with character

Program to check Vowel and consonant

We will pass a character in switch expression to check whether it is vowel or constant.

If the passed character is A, E, I, O, or U, it will be vowel otherwise consonant.

1. <?php
2. $ch = 'U';
3. switch ($ch)
4. {
5. case 'a':
6. echo "Given character is vowel";
7. break;
8. case 'e':
9. echo "Given character is vowel";
10. break;
 11. case 'i':
12. echo "Given character is vowel";
13. break;
14. case 'o':
15. echo "Given character is vowel";
16. break;
17. case 'u':
18. echo "Given character is vowel";
19. break;
20. case 'A':
21. echo "Given character is vowel";
22. break;
23. case 'E':
24. echo "Given character is vowel";
25. break;
26. case 'I':
27. echo "Given character is vowel";
28. break;
29. case 'O':
30. echo "Given character is vowel";
31. break;
32. case 'U':
33. echo "Given character is vowel";
34. break;
35. default:
36. echo "Given character is consonant";
37. break;
38. }
39. ?>

Output:

Given character is vowel

PHP switch statement with String

PHP allows to pass string in switch expression. Let's see the below example of course
duration by passing string in switch case statement.
 1. <?php
2. $ch = "B.Tech";
3. switch ($ch)
4. {
5. case "BCA":
6. echo "BCA is 3 years course";
7. break;
8. case "Bsc":
9. echo "Bsc is 3 years course";
10. break;
11. case "B.Tech":
12. echo "B.Tech is 4 years course";
13. break;
14. case "B.Arch":
15. echo "B.Arch is 5 years course";
16. break;
17. default:
18. echo "Wrong Choice";
19. break;
20. }
21. ?>

Output:

B.Tech is 4 years course

PHP switch statement is fall-through

PHP switch statement is fall-through. It means it will execute all statements after
getting the first match, if break statement is not found.

1. <?php
2. $ch = 'c';
3. switch ($ch)
4. {
5. case 'a':
6. echo "Choice a";
7. break;
8. case 'b':
 9. echo "Choice b";
10. break;
11. case 'c':
12. echo "Choice c";
13. echo "</br>";
14. case 'd':
15. echo "Choice d";
16. echo "</br>";
17. default:
18. echo "case a, b, c, and d is not found";
19. }
20. ?>

Output:

Choice c
Choice d
case a, b, c, and d is not found

PHP nested switch statement

Nested switch statement means switch statement inside another switch statement.
Sometimes it leads to confusion.

1. <?php
2. $car = "Hyundai";
3. $model = "Tucson";
4. switch( $car )
5. {
6. case "Honda":
7. switch( $model )
8. {
9. case "Amaze":
10. echo "Honda Amaze price is 5.93 - 9.79 Lakh.";
11. break;
12. case "City":
13. echo "Honda City price is 9.91 - 14.31 Lakh.";
14. break;
15. }
 16. break;
17. case "Renault":
18. switch( $model )
19. {
20. case "Duster":
21. echo "Renault Duster price is 9.15 - 14.83 L.";
22. break;
23. case "Kwid":
24. echo "Renault Kwid price is 3.15 - 5.44 L.";
25. break;
26. }
27. break;
28. case "Hyundai":
29. switch( $model )
30. {
31. case "Creta":
32. echo "Hyundai Creta price is 11.42 - 18.73 L.";
33. break;
34. case "Tucson":
35. echo "Hyundai Tucson price is 22.39 - 32.07 L.";
36. break;
37. case "Xcent":
38. echo "Hyundai Xcent price is 6.5 - 10.05 L.";
39. break;
40. }
41. break;
42. }
43. ?>

Output:

Hyundai Tucson price is 22.39 - 32.07 L.

PHP Function: Returning Value

Let's see an example of PHP function that returns value.
File: functiondefaultarg.php

1. <?php
2. function cube($n){
3. return $n*$n*$n;
4. }
5. echo "Cube of 3 is: ".cube(3);
6. ?>

Output:

Cube of 3 is: 27

PHP Call By Value

PHP allows you to call function by value and reference both. In case of PHP call by
value, actual value is not modified if it is modified inside the function.

Let's understand the concept of call by value by the help of examples.

Example 1
In this example, variable $str is passed to the adder function where it is concatenated
with 'Call By Value' string. But, printing $str variable results 'Hello' only. It is because
changes are done in the local variable $str2 only. It doesn't reflect to $str variable.

1. <?php
2. function adder($str2)
3. {
4. $str2 .= 'Call By Value';
5. }
6. $str = 'Hello ';
7. adder($str);
8. echo $str;
9. ?>

Output:

Hello

Example 2
Let's understand PHP call by value concept through another example.
 1. <?php
2. function increment($i)
3. {
4. $i++;
5. }
6. $i = 10;
7. increment($i);
8. echo $i;
9. ?>

Output:

10

PHP Call By Reference

In case of PHP call by reference, actual value is modified if it is modified inside the
function. In such case, you need to use & (ampersand) symbol with formal arguments.
The & represents reference of the variable.

Let's understand the concept of call by reference by the help of examples.

Example 1
In this example, variable $str is passed to the adder function where it is concatenated
with 'Call By Reference' string. Here, printing $str variable results 'This is Call By
Reference'. It is because changes are done in the actual variable $str.

1. <?php
2. function adder(&$str2)
3. {
4. $str2 .= 'Call By Reference';
5. }
6. $str = 'This is ';
7. adder($str);
8. echo $str;
9. ?>

Output:

This is Call By Reference

PHP Default Argument Values Function
PHP allows you to define C++ style default argument values. In such case, if you don't
pass any value to the function, it will use default argument value.

Let' see the simple example of using PHP default arguments in function.

Example 1
1. <?php
2. function sayHello($name="Ram"){
3. echo "Hello $name<br/>";
4. }
5. sayHello("Sonoo");
6. sayHello();//passing no value
7. sayHello("Vimal");
8. ?>

Output:

Hello Sonoo
Hello Ram
Hello Vimal

PHP Arrays
PHP array is an ordered map (contains value on the basis of key). It is used to hold
multiple values of similar type in a single variable.

Advantage of PHP Array

Less Code: We don't need to define multiple variables.

Easy to traverse: By the help of single loop, we can traverse all the elements of an
array.

Sorting: We can sort the elements of array.

PHP Array Types

There are 3 types of array in PHP.

1. Indexed Array
2. Associative Array
3. Multidimensional Array

PHP Indexed Array

PHP index is represented by number which starts from 0. We can store number, string
and object in the PHP array. All PHP array elements are assigned to an index number
by default.

There are two ways to define indexed array:

1st way:

1. $season=array("summer","winter","spring","autumn");

2nd way:

1. $season[0]="summer";
2. $season[1]="winter";
3. $season[2]="spring";
4. $season[3]="autumn";

Example
File: array1.php

1. <?php
2. $season=array("summer","winter","spring","autumn");
3. echo "Season are: $season[0], $season[1], $season[2] and $season[3]";
4. ?>

Output:

Season are: summer, winter, spring and autumn

File: array2.php

1. <?php
 2. $season[0]="summer";
3. $season[1]="winter";
4. $season[2]="spring";
5. $season[3]="autumn";
6. echo "Season are: $season[0], $season[1], $season[2] and $season[3]";
7. ?>

Output:

Season are: summer, winter, spring and autumn

Click me for more details...

PHP Associative Array

We can associate name with each array elements in PHP using => symbol.

There are two ways to define associative array:

1st way:

1. $salary=array("Sonoo"=>"350000","John"=>"450000","Kartik"=>"200000");

2nd way:

1. $salary["Sonoo"]="350000";
2. $salary["John"]="450000";
3. $salary["Kartik"]="200000";

Example
File: arrayassociative1.php

1. <?php
2. $salary=array("Sonoo"=>"350000","John"=>"450000","Kartik"=>"200000");
3. echo "Sonoo salary: ".$salary["Sonoo"]."<br/>";
4. echo "John salary: ".$salary["John"]."<br/>";
5. echo "Kartik salary: ".$salary["Kartik"]."<br/>";
6. ?>

Output:
Sonoo salary: 350000
John salary: 450000
Kartik salary: 200000
File: arrayassociative2.php

1. <?php
2. $salary["Sonoo"]="350000";
3. $salary["John"]="450000";
4. $salary["Kartik"]="200000";
5. echo "Sonoo salary: ".$salary["Sonoo"]."<br/>";
6. echo "John salary: ".$salary["John"]."<br/>";
7. echo "Kartik salary: ".$salary["Kartik"]."<br/>";
8. ?>

Output:

Sonoo salary: 350000

John salary: 450000
Kartik salary: 200000

PHP Multidimensional Array

PHP multidimensional array is also known as array of arrays. It allows you to store
tabular data in an array. PHP multidimensional array can be represented in the form of
matrix which is represented by row * column.

Definition
1. $emp = array
2. (
3. array(1,"sonoo",400000),
4. array(2,"john",500000),
5. array(3,"rahul",300000)
6. );

PHP Multidimensional Array Example

Let's see a simple example of PHP multidimensional array to display following tabular
data. In this example, we are displaying 3 rows and 3 columns.

Id Name Salary
 1 sonoo 400000

2 john 500000

3 rahul 300000

File: multiarray.php

1. <?php
2. $emp = array
3. (
4. array(1,"sonoo",400000),
5. array(2,"john",500000),
6. array(3,"rahul",300000)
7. );
8.
9. for ($row = 0; $row < 3; $row++) {
10. for ($col = 0; $col < 3; $col++) {
11. echo $emp[$row][$col]." ";
12. }
13. echo "<br/>";
14. }
15. ?>

Output:

1 sonoo 400000
2 john 500000
3 rahul 300000

PHP Form Handling

We can create and use forms in PHP. To get form data, we need to use PHP
superglobals $_GET and $_POST.

The form request may be get or post. To retrieve data from get request, we need to
use $_GET, for post request $_POST.

PHP Get Form

Get request is the default form request. The data passed through get request is visible
on the URL browser so it is not secured. You can send limited amount of data through
get request.

Let's see a simple example to receive data from get request in PHP.

File: form1.html

1. <form action="welcome.php" method="get">

2. Name: <input type="text" name="name"/>
3. <input type="submit" value="visit"/>
4. </form>
File: welcome.php

1. <?php
2. $name=$_GET["name"];//receiving name field value in $name variable
3. echo "Welcome, $name";
4. ?>

PHP Post Form

Post request is widely used to submit form that have large amount of data such as file
upload, image upload, login form, registration form etc.

The data passed through post request is not visible on the URL browser so it is secured.
You can send large amount of data through post request.

Let's see a simple example to receive data from post request in PHP.

File: form1.html

1. <form action="login.php" method="post">

2. <table>
3. <tr><td>Name:</td><td> <input type="text" name="name"/></td></tr>
4. <tr><td>Password:</td><td> <input type="password" name="password"/></td><
/tr>
5. <tr><td colspan="2"><input type="submit" value="login"/> </td></tr>
6. </table>
7. </form>
File: login.php

1. <?php
2. $name=$_POST["name"];//receiving name field value in $name variable
 3. $password=$_POST["password"];//receiving password field value in $passwor
d variable
4.
5. echo "Welcome: $name, your password is: $password";
6. ?>

Output:

PHP Include and Require

PHP allows us to create various elements and functions, which are used several times
in many pages. It takes much time to script these functions in multiple pages.
Therefore, use the concept of file inclusion that helps to include files in various
programs and saves the effort of writing code multiple times.

"PHP allows you to include file so that a page content can be reused many times. It is
very helpful to include files when you want to apply the same HTML or PHP code to
multiple pages of a website." There are two ways to include file in PHP.

1. include
 2. require

Both include and require are identical to each other, except failure.

o include only generates a warning, i.e., E_WARNING, and continue the execution of the
script.
o require generates a fatal error, i.e., E_COMPILE_ERROR, and stop the execution of the
script.

Advantage
Code Reusability: By the help of include and require construct, we can reuse HTML
code or PHP script in many PHP scripts.

Easy editable: If we want to change anything in webpages, edit the source file
included in all webpage rather than editing in all the files separately.

PHP include
PHP include is used to include a file on the basis of given path. You may use a relative
or absolute path of the file.

Syntax

There are two syntaxes available for include:

1. include 'filename ';

2. Or
3. include ('filename');
Examples

Let's see a simple PHP include example.

File: menu.html

1. <a href="http://www.javatpoint.com">Home</a> |
2. <a href="http://www.javatpoint.com/php-tutorial">PHP</a> |
3. <a href="http://www.javatpoint.com/java-tutorial">Java</a> |
4. <a href="http://www.javatpoint.com/html-tutorial">HTML</a>
File: include1.php

1. <?php include("menu.html"); ?>

2. <h1>This is Main Page</h1>
Output:

Home |
PHP |
Java |
HTML

This is Main Page

PHP require
PHP require is similar to include, which is also used to include files. The only difference
is that it stops the execution of script if the file is not found whereas include doesn't.

Syntax

There are two syntaxes available for require:

1. require 'filename';
2. Or
3. require ('filename');
Examples

Let's see a simple PHP require example.

File: menu.html

1. <a href="http://www.javatpoint.com">Home</a> |
2. <a href="http://www.javatpoint.com/php-tutorial">PHP</a> |
3. <a href="http://www.javatpoint.com/java-tutorial">Java</a> |
4. <a href="http://www.javatpoint.com/html-tutorial">HTML</a>
File: require1.php

1. <?php require("menu.html"); ?>

2. <h1>This is Main Page</h1>

Output:

Home |
PHP |
Java |
HTML

This is Main Page

PHP include vs PHP require
Both include and require are same. But if the file is missing or inclusion
fails, include allows the script to continue but require halts the script producing a fatal
E_COMPILE_ERROR level error.

Let's understand the difference with the help of example:

Example
include.php

1. <?php
2. //include welcome.php file
3. include("welcome.php");
4. echo "The welcome file is included.";
5. ?>

Output:

The welcome.php file is not available in the same directory, which we have included.
So, it will produce a warning about that missing file but also display the output.

Warning: include(welcome.php): failed to open stream: No such file or

directory in C:\xampp\htdocs\program\include.php on line 3

Warning: include(): Failed opening 'welcome.php' for inclusion

(include_path='C:\xampp\php\PEAR') in C:\xampp\htdocs\program\include.php
on line 3
The welcome file is included.
require.php

1. <?php
2. echo "HELLO";
3. //require welcome.php file
4. require("welcome.php");
5. echo "The welcome file is required.";
6. ?>

Output:

In case of require() if the file (welcome.php) is not found in the same directory. The
require() will generate a fatal error and stop the execution of the script, as you can
see in the below output.
HELLO
Warning: require(Welcome.php): failed to open stream: No such file or
directory in C:\xampp\htdocs\program\include.php on line 3

Fatal error: require(): Failed opening required 'Welcome.php'

(include_path='C:\xampp\php\PEAR') in C:\xampp

PHP Cookie
PHP cookie is a small piece of information which is stored at client browser. It is used
to recognize the user.

Cookie is created at server side and saved to client browser. Each time when client
sends request to the server, cookie is embedded with request. Such way, cookie can
be received at the server side.

In short, cookie can be created, sent and received at server end.

Note: PHP Cookie must be used before <html> tag.

PHP setcookie() function

PHP setcookie() function is used to set cookie with HTTP response. Once cookie is set,
you can access it by $_COOKIE superglobal variable.

Syntax

1. bool setcookie ( string $name [, string $value [, int $expire = 0 [, string $path
2. [, string $domain [, bool $secure = false [, bool $httponly = false ]]]]]] )

Example

1. setcookie("CookieName", "CookieValue");/* defining name and value only*/

2. setcookie("CookieName", "CookieValue", time()+1*60*60);//using expiry in 1 hour(1*6
0*60 seconds or 3600 seconds)
3. setcookie("CookieName", "CookieValue", time()+1*60*60, "/mypath/", "mydo
main.com", 1);
PHP $_COOKIE
PHP $_COOKIE superglobal variable is used to get cookie.

Example

1. $value=$_COOKIE["CookieName"];//returns cookie value

PHP Cookie Example

File: cookie1.php

1. <?php
2. setcookie("user", "Sonoo");
3. ?>
4. <html>
5. <body>
6. <?php
7. if(!isset($_COOKIE["user"])) {
8. echo "Sorry, cookie is not found!";
9. } else {
10. echo "<br/>Cookie Value: " . $_COOKIE["user"];
11. }
12. ?>
13. </body>
14. </html>

Output:

Sorry, cookie is not found!

Firstly cookie is not set. But, if you refresh the page, you will see cookie is set now.

Output:

Cookie Value: Sonoo

PHP Delete Cookie

If you set the expiration date in past, cookie will be deleted.

File: cookie1.php
 1. <?php
2. setcookie ("CookieName", "", time() - 3600);// set the expiration date to one hour ago

3. ?>

PHP Session
PHP session is used to store and pass information from one page to another
temporarily (until user close the website).

PHP session technique is widely used in shopping websites where we need to store
and pass cart information e.g. username, product code, product name, product price
etc from one page to another.

PHP session creates unique user id for each browser to recognize the user and avoid
conflict between multiple browsers.

PHP session_start() function

PHP session_start() function is used to start the session. It starts a new or resumes
existing session. It returns existing session if session is created already. If session is not
available, it creates and returns new session.

Syntax

1. bool session_start ( void )

Example

1. session_start();
PHP $_SESSION
PHP $_SESSION is an associative array that contains all session variables. It is used to
set and get session variable values.

Example: Store information

1. $_SESSION["user"] = "Sachin";

Example: Get information

1. echo $_SESSION["user"];

PHP Session Example

File: session1.php

1. <?php
2. session_start();
3. ?>
4. <html>
5. <body>
6. <?php
7. $_SESSION["user"] = "Sachin";
8. echo "Session information are set successfully.<br/>";
9. ?>
10. <a href="session2.php">Visit next page</a>
11. </body>
12. </html>
File: session2.php

1. <?php
2. session_start();
3. ?>
4. <html>
5. <body>
6. <?php
7. echo "User is: ".$_SESSION["user"];
8. ?>
9. </body>
 10. </html>

PHP Session Counter Example

File: sessioncounter.php

1. <?php
2. session_start();
3.
4. if (!isset($_SESSION['counter'])) {
5. $_SESSION['counter'] = 1;
6. } else {
7. $_SESSION['counter']++;
8. }
9. echo ("Page Views: ".$_SESSION['counter']);
10. ?>

PHP Destroying Session

PHP session_destroy() function is used to destroy all session variables completely.

File: session3.php

1. <?php
2. session_start();
3. session_destroy();
4. ?>

PHP File Handling

PHP File System allows us to create file, read file line by line, read file character by
character, write file, append file, delete file and close file.

PHP Open File - fopen()

The PHP fopen() function is used to open a file.

Syntax

1. resource fopen ( string $filename , string $mode [, bool $use_include_path = f

alse [, resource $context ]] )
Example

1. <?php
2. $handle = fopen("c:\\folder\\file.txt", "r");
3. ?>

PHP Close File - fclose()

The PHP fclose() function is used to close an open file pointer.

Syntax

1. ool fclose ( resource $handle )

Example

1. <?php
2. fclose($handle);
3. ?>

PHP Read File - fread()

The PHP fread() function is used to read the content of the file. It accepts two
arguments: resource and file size.

Syntax

1. string fread ( resource $handle , int $length )

Example

1. <?php
2. $filename = "c:\\myfile.txt";
3. $handle = fopen($filename, "r");//open file in read mode
4.
5. $contents = fread($handle, filesize($filename));//read file
6.
7. echo $contents;//printing data of file
8. fclose($handle);//close file
9. ?>
Output

hello php file

PHP Write File - fwrite()

The PHP fwrite() function is used to write content of the string into file.

Syntax

1. int fwrite ( resource $handle , string $string [, int $length ] )

Example

1. <?php
2. $fp = fopen('data.txt', 'w');//open file in write mode
3. fwrite($fp, 'hello ');
4. fwrite($fp, 'php file');
5. fclose($fp);
6.
7. echo "File written successfully";
8. ?>

Output

File written successfully

PHP Delete File - unlink()

The PHP unlink() function is used to delete file.

Syntax

1. bool unlink ( string $filename [, resource $context ] )

Example

1. <?php
2. unlink('data.txt');
 3.
4. echo "File deleted successfully";
?>

PHP File Upload

PHP allows you to upload single and multiple files through few lines of code only.

PHP file upload features allows you to upload binary and text files both. Moreover, you
can have the full control over the file to be uploaded through PHP authentication and
file operation functions.

PHP $_FILES
The PHP global $_FILES contains all the information of file. By the help of $_FILES
global, we can get file name, file type, file size, temp file name and errors associated
with file.

Here, we are assuming that file name is filename.

$_FILES['filename']['name']
returns file name.

$_FILES['filename']['type']
returns MIME type of the file.

$_FILES['filename']['size']
returns size of the file (in bytes).

$_FILES['filename']['tmp_name']
returns temporary file name of the file which was stored on the server.

$_FILES['filename']['error']
returns error code associated with this file.
move_uploaded_file() function
The move_uploaded_file() function moves the uploaded file to a new location. The
move_uploaded_file() function checks internally if the file is uploaded thorough the
POST request. It moves the file if it is uploaded through the POST request.

Syntax

1. bool move_uploaded_file ( string $filename , string $destination )

PHP File Upload Example

File: uploadform.html

1. <form action="uploader.php" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-

data">
2. Select File:
3. <input type="file" name="fileToUpload"/>
4. <input type="submit" value="Upload Image" name="submit"/>
5. </form>
File: uploader.php

1. <?php
2. $target_path = "e:/";
3. $target_path = $target_path.basename( $_FILES['fileToUpload']['name']);
4.
5. if(move_uploaded_file($_FILES['fileToUpload']['tmp_name'], $target_path)) {
6. echo "File uploaded successfully!";
7. } else{
8. echo "Sorry, file not uploaded, please try again!";
9. }
10. ?>

PHP Download File

PHP enables you to download file easily using built-in readfile() function. The readfile()
function reads a file and writes it to the output buffer.

PHP readfile() function

Syntax

1. int readfile ( string $filename [, bool $use_include_path = false [, resource $con

text ]] )

$filename: represents the file name

$use_include_path: it is the optional parameter. It is by default false. You can set it to

true to the search the file in the included_path.

$context: represents the context stream resource.

int: it returns the number of bytes read from the file.

PHP Download File Example: Text File

File: download1.php

1. <?php
2. $file_url = 'http://www.javatpoint.com/f.txt';
3. header('Content-Type: application/octet-stream');
4. header("Content-Transfer-Encoding: utf-8");
5. header("Content-
disposition: attachment; filename=\"" . basename($file_url) . "\"");
6. readfile($file_url);
7. ?>

PHP Download File Example: Binary File

File: download2.php

1. <?php
2. $file_url = 'http://www.myremoteserver.com/file.exe';
3. header('Content-Type: application/octet-stream');
4. header("Content-Transfer-Encoding: Binary");
5. header("Content-
disposition: attachment; filename=\"" . basename($file_url) . "\"");
6. readfile($file_url);
7. ?>
PHP Mail
PHP mail() function is used to send email in PHP. You can send text message, html
message and attachment with message using PHP mail() function.

PHP mail() function

Syntax

1. bool mail ( string $to , string $subject , string $message [, string $additional_h
eaders [, string $additional_parameters ]] )

$to: specifies receiver or receivers of the mail. The receiver must be specified one of
the following forms.

o [email protected]
o [email protected], [email protected]
o User <[email protected]>
o User <[email protected]>, Another User <[email protected]>

$subject: represents subject of the mail.

$message: represents message of the mail to be sent.

Note: Each line of the message should be separated with a CRLF ( \r\n ) and lines
should not be larger than 70 characters.

$additional_headers (optional): specifies the additional headers such as From, CC,

BCC etc. Extra additional headers should also be separated with CRLF ( \r\n ).

PHP Mail Example

File: mailer.php

1. <?php
2. ini_set("sendmail_from", "[email protected]");
3. $to = "[email protected]";//change receiver address
4. $subject = "This is subject";
5. $message = "This is simple text message.";
6. $header = "From:[email protected] \r\n";
 7.
8. $result = mail ($to,$subject,$message,$header);
9.
10. if( $result == true ){
11. echo "Message sent successfully...";
12. }else{
13. echo "Sorry, unable to send mail...";
14. }
15. ?>

If you run this code on the live server, it will send an email to the specified receiver.

PHP Mail: Send HTML Message

To send HTML message, you need to mention Content-type text/html in the message
header.

1. <?php
2. $to = "[email protected]";//change receiver address
3. $subject = "This is subject";
4. $message = "<h1>This is HTML heading</h1>";
5.
6. $header = "From:[email protected] \r\n";
7. $header .= "MIME-Version: 1.0 \r\n";
8. $header .= "Content-type: text/html;charset=UTF-8 \r\n";
9.
10. $result = mail ($to,$subject,$message,$header);
11.
12. if( $result == true ){
13. echo "Message sent successfully...";
14. }else{
15. echo "Sorry, unable to send mail...";
16. }
17. ?>

PHP Mail: Send Mail with Attachment

To send message with attachment, you need to mention many header information
which is used in the example given below.

1. <?php
2. $to = "[email protected]";
3. $subject = "This is subject";
4. $message = "This is a text message.";
5. # Open a file
6. $file = fopen("/tmp/test.txt", "r" );//change your file location
7. if( $file == false )
8. {
9. echo "Error in opening file";
10. exit();
11. }
12. # Read the file into a variable
13. $size = filesize("/tmp/test.txt");
14. $content = fread( $file, $size);
15.
16. # encode the data for safe transit
17. # and insert \r\n after every 76 chars.
18. $encoded_content = chunk_split( base64_encode($content));
19.
20. # Get a random 32 bit number using time() as seed.
21. $num = md5( time() );
22.
23. # Define the main headers.
24. $header = "From:[email protected]\r\n";
25. $header .= "MIME-Version: 1.0\r\n";
26. $header .= "Content-Type: multipart/mixed; ";
27. $header .= "boundary=$num\r\n";
28. $header .= "--$num\r\n";
29.
30. # Define the message section
31. $header .= "Content-Type: text/plain\r\n";
32. $header .= "Content-Transfer-Encoding:8bit\r\n\n";
33. $header .= "$message\r\n";
34. $header .= "--$num\r\n";
 35.
36. # Define the attachment section
37. $header .= "Content-Type: multipart/mixed; ";
38. $header .= "name=\"test.txt\"\r\n";
39. $header .= "Content-Transfer-Encoding:base64\r\n";
40. $header .= "Content-Disposition:attachment; ";
41. $header .= "filename=\"test.txt\"\r\n\n";
42. $header .= "$encoded_content\r\n";
43. $header .= "--$num--";
44.
45. # Send email now
46. $result = mail ( $to, $subject, "", $header );
47. if( $result == true ){
48. echo "Message sent successfully...";
49. }else{
50. echo "Sorry, unable to send mail...";
51. }
52. ?>

PHP date() function

PHP date() function shows day, month and year altogether. Date and time are stored
in computer in UNIX Timestamp format. It calculates time in number of seconds on
GMT (greenwich mean time) i.e started from January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 GMT.

Syntax

1. string date ( string $format [, int $timestamp = time() ] )

Parameters

Parameter Description R

Format Specifies the format of returned date and time r

Timestamp Current date can be used in place of timestamp o

Return
This function returns a formatted date string. If timestamp is using a non-numeric
value, FALSE is returned and an E_WARNING level error is emitted.

Example 1
1. <?php
2. $day =date('d/m/y');
3. Echo $day;
4. ?>

Output:

09/08/18
ADVERTISEMENT

Example 2
1. <?php
2. // Prints the day
3. echo date("l") . "\n";
4. // Prints the day, date, month, year, time, AM or PM
5. echo date("l jS \of F Y h:i:s A");
6. ?>

Output:

Backward Skip 10sPlay VideoForward Skip 10s

Thursday
Thursday 9th of August 2018 09:16:30 AM

Example 3
1. <?php
2. echo date("d/m/Y") . "\n";
3. echo date("d-m-Y") . "\n";
4. echo date("d.m.Y");
5. ?>

Output:

09/08/2018
09-08-2018
09.08.2018

PHP time() Function

The PHP time() function is used to return the current time as a UNIX timestamp. This
function would work by our server time and can be formatted easily.

Syntax

1. int time ( void )

Example 1
1. <?php
2. $today=time();
3. echo($today . "\n");
4. echo(date("Y-m-d",$today));
5. ?>

Output:

1533574329
2018-08-06

Example 2
1. <?php
2. $time1 = time();
3. echo($time1);
4. echo "\n";
5. echo(date("F d, Y h:i:s A", $time1));
6. ?>

Output:

1533803143
August 09, 2018 08:25:43 AM

Example 3
1. <?php
2. $actualtime = time();
3. echo($actualtime);
 4. ?>

Output:

Backward Skip 10sPlay VideoForward Skip 10s

1532542416
Note: the output of the code is not a human readable code so to get the readable
code view next example.

Example 4
1. <?php
2. $actualtime = 1532542416;
3. echo(date("d /m/ y h:i:s", $actualtime));
4. ?>

Output:

25/ 07/18 06:13:36

PHP MySQL Create Database

Since PHP 4.3, mysql_create_db() function is deprecated. Now it is recommended to
use one of the 2 alternatives.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

o mysqli_query()
o PDO::__query()

PHP MySQLi Create Database Example

Example

1. <?php
2. $host = 'localhost:3306';
3. $user = '';
4. $pass = '';
5. $conn = mysqli_connect($host, $user, $pass);
6. if(! $conn )
7. {
 8. die('Could not connect: ' . mysqli_connect_error());
9. }
10. echo 'Connected successfully<br/>';
11.
12. $sql = 'CREATE Database mydb';
13. if(mysqli_query( $conn,$sql)){
14. echo "Database mydb created successfully.";
15. }else{
16. echo "Sorry, database creation failed ".mysqli_error($conn);
17. }
18. mysqli_close($conn);
19. ?>

Output:

Connected successfully
Database mydb created successfully.

PHP MySQL Create Table

PHP mysql_query() function is used to create table. Since PHP
5.5, mysql_query() function is deprecated. Now it is recommended to use one of the
2 alternatives.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

o mysqli_query()
o PDO::__query()

PHP MySQLi Create Table Example

Example

1. <?php
2. $host = 'localhost:3306';
3. $user = '';
4. $pass = '';
5. $dbname = 'test';
6.
7. $conn = mysqli_connect($host, $user, $pass,$dbname);
 8. if(!$conn){
9. die('Could not connect: '.mysqli_connect_error());
10. }
11. echo 'Connected successfully<br/>';
12.
13. $sql = "create table emp5(id INT AUTO_INCREMENT,name VARCHAR(20) NOT
NULL,
14. emp_salary INT NOT NULL,primary key (id))";
15. if(mysqli_query($conn, $sql)){
16. echo "Table emp5 created successfully";
17. }else{
18. echo "Could not create table: ". mysqli_error($conn);
19. }
20.
21. mysqli_close($conn);
22. ?>

Output:

Connected successfully
Table emp5 created successfully

PHP MySQL Insert Record

PHP mysql_query() function is used to insert record in a table. Since PHP
5.5, mysql_query() function is deprecated. Now it is recommended to use one of the
2 alternatives.

o mysqli_query()
o PDO::__query()

PHP MySQLi Insert Record Example

Example

1. <?php
2. $host = 'localhost:3306';
3. $user = '';
4. $pass = '';
5. $dbname = 'test';
 6.
7. $conn = mysqli_connect($host, $user, $pass,$dbname);
8. if(!$conn){
9. die('Could not connect: '.mysqli_connect_error());
10. }
11. echo 'Connected successfully<br/>';
12.
13. $sql = 'INSERT INTO emp4(name,salary) VALUES ("sonoo", 9000)';
14. if(mysqli_query($conn, $sql)){
15. echo "Record inserted successfully";
16. }else{
17. echo "Could not insert record: ". mysqli_error($conn);
18. }
19.
20. mysqli_close($conn);
21. ?>

Output:

Connected successfully
Record inserted successfully

PHP MySQL Update Record

PHP mysql_query() function is used to update record in a table. Since PHP
5.5, mysql_query() function is deprecated. Now it is recommended to use one of the
2 alternatives.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

o mysqli_query()
o PDO::__query()

PHP MySQLi Update Record Example

Example

1. <?php
2. $host = 'localhost:3306';
3. $user = '';
 4. $pass = '';
5. $dbname = 'test';
6.
7. $conn = mysqli_connect($host, $user, $pass,$dbname);
8. if(!$conn){
9. die('Could not connect: '.mysqli_connect_error());
10. }
11. echo 'Connected successfully<br/>';
12.
13. $id=2;
14. $name="Rahul";
15. $salary=80000;
16. $sql = "update emp4 set name=\"$name\", salary=$salary where id=$id";
17. if(mysqli_query($conn, $sql)){
18. echo "Record updated successfully";
19. }else{
20. echo "Could not update record: ". mysqli_error($conn);
21. }
22.
23. mysqli_close($conn);
24. ?>

Output:

Connected successfully
Record updated successfully

PHP MySQL Delete Record

PHP mysql_query() function is used to delete record in a table. Since PHP
5.5, mysql_query() function is deprecated. Now it is recommended to use one of the
2 alternatives.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

o mysqli_query()
o PDO::__query()

PHP MySQLi Delete Record Example

Example

1. <?php
2. $host = 'localhost:3306';
3. $user = '';
4. $pass = '';
5. $dbname = 'test';
6.
7. $conn = mysqli_connect($host, $user, $pass,$dbname);
8. if(!$conn){
9. die('Could not connect: '.mysqli_connect_error());
10. }
11. echo 'Connected successfully<br/>';
12.
13. $id=2;
14. $sql = "delete from emp4 where id=$id";
15. if(mysqli_query($conn, $sql)){
16. echo "Record deleted successfully";
17. }else{
18. echo "Could not deleted record: ". mysqli_error($conn);
19. }
20.
21. mysqli_close($conn);
22. ?>

Output:

Connected successfully
Record deleted successfully

PHP MySQL Select Query

PHP mysql_query() function is used to execute select query. Since PHP
5.5, mysql_query() function is deprecated. Now it is recommended to use one of the
2 alternatives.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

o mysqli_query()
o PDO::__query()
There are two other MySQLi functions used in select query.

o mysqli_num_rows(mysqli_result $result): returns number of rows.

o mysqli_fetch_assoc(mysqli_result $result): returns row as an associative array. Each
key of the array represents the column name of the table. It return NULL if there are
no more rows.

PHP MySQLi Select Query Example

Example

1. <?php
2. $host = 'localhost:3306';
3. $user = '';
4. $pass = '';
5. $dbname = 'test';
6. $conn = mysqli_connect($host, $user, $pass,$dbname);
7. if(!$conn){
8. die('Could not connect: '.mysqli_connect_error());
9. }
10. echo 'Connected successfully<br/>';
11.
12. $sql = 'SELECT * FROM emp4';
13. $retval=mysqli_query($conn, $sql);
14.
15. if(mysqli_num_rows($retval) > 0){
16. while($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($retval)){
17. echo "EMP ID :{$row['id']} <br> ".
18. "EMP NAME : {$row['name']} <br> ".
19. "EMP SALARY : {$row['salary']} <br> ".
20. "--------------------------------<br>";
21. } //end of while
22. }else{
23. echo "0 results";
24. }
25. mysqli_close($conn);
26. ?>
Output:

Connected successfully
EMP ID :1
EMP NAME : ratan
EMP SALARY : 9000
--------------------------------
EMP ID :2
EMP NAME : karan
EMP SALARY : 40000
--------------------------------
EMP ID :3
EMP NAME : jai
EMP SALARY : 90000
--------------------------------