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Functions in PHP

The document discusses different types of PHP functions including creating basic functions, passing parameters, passing by reference, returning values, setting default parameters, dynamic function calls, and parameter passing methods. Functions can perform tasks, take parameters, return values, and references allow modifying original variables. Parameters can be passed by value where the original doesn't change, or by reference where the original variable is modified.

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Tamero Ka
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© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
31 views

Functions in PHP

The document discusses different types of PHP functions including creating basic functions, passing parameters, passing by reference, returning values, setting default parameters, dynamic function calls, and parameter passing methods. Functions can perform tasks, take parameters, return values, and references allow modifying original variables. Parameters can be passed by value where the original doesn't change, or by reference where the original variable is modified.

Uploaded by

Tamero Ka
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Creating PHP Function

Its very easy to create your own PHP function. Suppose you want to create a PHP
function which will simply write a simple message on your browser when you
will call it. Following example creates a function called writeMessage() and then
calls it just after creating it.
Note that while creating a function its name should start with
keyword function and all the PHP code should be put inside { and } braces as
shown in the following example below −
<html>

<head>
<title>Writing PHP Function</title>
</head>

<body>

<? php
/* Defining a PHP Function */
function writeMessage () {
echo "you can do programming";
}

/* Calling a PHP Function */


WriteMessage ();
?>

</body>
</html>

PHP Functions with Parameters

PHP gives you option to pass your parameters inside a function. You can pass as
many as parameters your like. These parameters work like variables inside your
function. Following example takes two integer parameters and add them together
and then print them.
<html>
<head>
<title>Writing PHP Function with Parameters</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
function addFunction($num1, $num2) {
$sum = $num1 + $num2;
echo "Sum of the two numbers is : $sum";
}
$a = 10;
addFunction($a, 20);
?>
</body>
</html>

Passing Arguments by Reference

It is possible to pass arguments to functions by reference. This means that a


reference to the variable is manipulated by the function rather than a copy of the
variable's value.
Any changes made to an argument in these cases will change the value of the
original variable. You can pass an argument by reference by adding an ampersand
to the variable name in either the function call or the function definition.
Following example depicts both the cases.
<html>
<head>
<title>Passing Argument by Reference</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
function addFive($num) {
$num += 5;
}
function addSix(&$num) {
$num += 6;
}
$orignum = 10;
addFive( $orignum );
echo "Original Value is $orignum<br />";
addSix( $orignum );
echo "Original Value is $orignum<br />";
?>
</body>
</html>

PHP Functions returning value

A function can return a value using the return statement in conjunction with a
value or object. return stops the execution of the function and sends the value back
to the calling code.
You can return more than one value from a function using return array(1,2,3,4).
Following example takes two integer parameters and add them together and then
returns their sum to the calling program. Note that return keyword is used to
return a value from a function.
<html>
<head>
<title>Writing PHP Function which returns value</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
function add($num1, $num2) {
$sum = $num1 + $num2;
return $sum;
}
$return_value = add(10, 20);
echo "Returned value from the function : $return_value";
?>
</body>
</html>

Setting Default Values for Function Parameters

You can set a parameter to have a default value if the function's caller doesn't pass
it.
Following function prints NULL in case use does not pass any value to this
function.
<html>
<head>
<title>Writing PHP Function which returns value</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
function printMe($param = NULL) {
print $param;
}
printMe("This is test");
printMe();
?>
</body>
</html>

Dynamic Function Calls


It is possible to assign function names as strings to variables and then treat these
variables exactly as you would the function name itself. Following example
depicts this behavior.
<html>
<head>
<title>Dynamic Function Calls</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
function fun1() {
echo "Hello<br />";
}
$function_holder = "fun1";
$function_holder();
?>
</body>
</html>

Parameter passing to Functions


PHP allows us two ways in which an argument can be passed into a function:

 Pass by Value: On passing arguments using pass by value, the value of the
argument gets changed within a function, but the original value outside the
function remains unchanged. That means a duplicate of the original value is
passed as an argument.
 Pass by Reference: On passing arguments as pass by reference, the original
value is passed. Therefore, the original value gets altered. In pass by reference
we actually pass the address of the value, where it is stored using ampersand
sign(&).
Example:

 PHP

<?php

// pass by value
function valfun($num) {
$num += 2;
return $num;
}

// pass by reference
function reffun(&$num) {
$num += 10;
return $num;
}

$n = 10;

valfun($n);
echo "The original value is still $n \n";

reffun($n);
echo "The original value changes to $n";

?>
Output:

The original value is still 10


The original value changes to 20

References: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/php/php_functions.htm

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