PHP Operators

PHP Operators

Operators are used to perform operations on variables and values.

PHP divides the operators in the following groups:

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

PHP Arithmetic Operators

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

Operator Name Example Result
+ Addition $x + $y Sum of $x and $y
- Subtraction $x - $y Difference of $x and $y
* Multiplication $x * $y Product of $x and $y
/ Division $x / $y Quotient of $x and $y
% Modulus $x % $y Remainder of $x divided by $y
** Exponentiation $x ** $y Result of raising $x to the $y'th power

PHP Assignment Operators

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

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

Assignment Same as... Description
x = y x = y The left operand gets set to the value of the expression on the right
x += y x = x + y Addition
x -= y x = x - y Subtraction
x *= y x = x * y Multiplication
x /= y x = x / y Division
x %= y x = x % y Modulus

 

PHP Comparison Operators

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

Operator Name Example Result
== Equal $x == $y Returns true if $x is equal to $y
=== Identical $x === $y Returns true if $x is equal to $y, and they are of the same type
!= Not equal $x != $y Returns true if $x is not equal to $y
<> Not equal $x <> $y Returns true if $x is not equal to $y
!== Not identical $x !== $y Returns true if $x is not equal to $y, or they are not of the same type
> Greater than $x > $y Returns true if $x is greater than $y
< Less than $x < $y Returns true if $x is less than $y
>= Greater than or equal to $x >= $y Returns true if $x is greater than or equal to $y
<= Less than or equal to $x <= $y Returns true if $x is less than or equal to $y
<=> 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.

PHP Increment / Decrement Operators

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

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

Operator Same as... 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 Logical Operators

The PHP logical operators are used to combine conditional statements.

Operator Name Example Result
and And $x and $y True if both $x and $y are true
or Or $x or $y True if either $x or $y is true
xor Xor $x xor $y True if either $x or $y is true, but not both
&& And $x && $y True if both $x and $y are true
|| Or $x || $y True if either $x or $y is true
! Not !$x True if $x is not true

PHP String Operators

PHP has two operators that are specially designed for strings.

Operator Name Example Result
. Concatenation $txt1 . $txt2 Concatenation of $txt1 and $txt2
.= Concatenation assignment $txt1 .= $txt2 Appends $txt2 to $txt1

PHP Array Operators

The PHP array operators are used to compare arrays.

Operator Name Example Result
+ Union $x + $y Union of $x and $y
== Equality $x == $y Returns true if $x and $y have the same key/value pairs
=== Identity $x === $y Returns true if $x and $y have the same key/value pairs in the same order and of the same types
!= Inequality $x != $y Returns true if $x is not equal to $y
<> Inequality $x <> $y Returns true if $x is not equal to $y
!== Non-identity $x !== $y Returns true if $x is not identical to $y

PHP Conditional Assignment Operators

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

Operator Name Example Result
?: 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
?? 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