PHP

Syntax: Conditional and Looping Statements

Conditional Statements
In PHP we have the following conditional statements:

• if statement - executes some code if one condition

is true
• if...else statement - executes some code if a
condition is true and another code if that condition is
false
• if...elseif...else statement - executes different codes
for more than two conditions
• switch statement - selects one of many blocks of
code to be executed
 Conditional Statements
if (condition / boolean expression)
{statements Example:
//code to be executed if this condition is true;
<?php
}
$t = date("H");
else if (another condition)
{ statements
if ($t < "10") {
//code to be executed if first echo "Have a good
condition is false and this morning!";
condition is true; } elseif ($t < "20") {
// there may be more than one else if echo "Have a good day!";
block } else {
} echo "Have a good
else {statements night!";
//code to be executed if all conditions are false; }
} ?>
The while loop
while (condition) {
statements
}

$x = 2;
while ($x < 1000) {
echo $x . “n”; // \n is newline character
$x = $x * $x;
}
Value of $x $x < 1000? Result
2 TRUE prints 2
4 TRUE prints 4
16 TRUE prints 16
256 TRUE prints 256
65536 FALSE exits loop
The do-while loop
 The code within the loop is executed at least once,
regardless of whether the condition is true
do {
statements
} while (condition);

equivalent to:

statements
while (condition) {
statements
}
The for loop
for (init; condition; increment) {
statements
}
equivalent to:
init
while (condition) {
statements
increment
}

Prints the first 10 positive integersand their

squares:

for ($i = 1; $i <= 10; $i++) {

echo $i . “:” . ($i * $i) . “\n”;
}
 PHP
Syntax: Functions and Global Variables
Defining your own functions
function function_name ($arg1, $arg2) {
function code function parameters
return $var // optional
}

Example: a simple multiply function

function multiply($x, $y) {
echo $x * $y;
echo “\n”;}
multiply(5, 1.2);  prints 6
$a = 5;
$b = 1.2;
multiply($a, $b);  prints 6
$a = array(1,2,3);
multiply($a, $b);  error
$a = “string”
multiply($a, $b);  prints 0 (?!)
Return values
 A function can return a value after it is done
 Usethis value in future computation, uselike a variable,
assign value to a variable
 A modified multiply function
function multiply($x, $y) {
return $x * $y;
}
multiply(2,3);  prints nothing! returns value, but we don’t store anywhere
echo multiply(2,3);  prints 6
$a = multiply(2,3);  assignsthe value 6 to the variable $a
$b = multiply(multiply(2,3), multiply(3,4));  assignsthe value
72 to the variable $b
Return values
 A function can return at most once, and it can only return one
value
 If it does not return anything, assignments will result in NULL
 A function ends after it returns, even if there is code following
the return statement
function do_stuff($x) {
if ($x % 2 == 0) { // if even
return $x/2 // exits function at this point
}
// this is ONLY executed if x is odd
$x += 5;
if ($x < 10) {
$x += 3;
}
return x;
}
Making function calls
 Code inside of a function is not executed unless the function is
called.
 Code outside of functions is executed whenever the program is
executed.
<?php
… // some code
function1(); // makes function call to function1(), which
// in turn calls function3()

function function1() {
… // some code
function3(); // makes function call to function3()
}
function function2() { // this function is never called!
… // some code
}
function function3() {
… // some code
}
?>
Variable scope
 Variables declared within a function have local scope
 Can only be accessed from within the function
<?php
function function1() {
… // some code
$local_var = 5; // this variable is LOCAL to
// function1()
echo $local_var + 3; // prints 8
}

… // some code
function1();
echo $local_var; // does nothing, since $local_var is
// out of scope

?>
Global variable scope
 Variables declared outside a function have global
scope
 Must use global keyword to gain access within functions
<?php
function function1() {
echo $a; // does nothing, $a is out of scope
global $a; // gain access to $a within function
echo $a; // prints 4
}

… // some code
$a = 4; // $a is a global variable
function1();

?>
 PHP
Syntax: Arrays
 Arrays as a list of elements
 Use arrays to keep track of a list of elements using
the same variable name, identifying each element by
its index, starting with 0
$colors = array(‘red’, ‘blue’, ‘green’, ‘black’, ‘yellow’);

 To add an element to the array:

$colors[] = ‘purple’;

 To remove an element from the array: Print using echo:

$arrlength =
unset($colors[2]); count($colors);
 To print elements of the array: for($x = 0; $x <
$arrlength; $x++) {
$colors = array_values($colors); echo $colors[$x];
print_r($colors); echo "<br>";
}
 Arrays as key-value mappings
 Use arrays to keep track of a set of unique keys and the
values that they map to – called an associative array
$favorite_colors = array(‘Joe’ => ‘blue’, ‘Elena’ => ‘green’,
‘Mark’ => ‘brown’, ‘Adrian’ => ‘black’, ‘Charles’ => ‘red’);

 To add an element to the array:

$favorite_colors[‘Bob’] = ‘purple’;
 To remove an element from the array:
unset($favorite_colors[‘Charles’]);
 Keys must be unique:
$favorite_colors[‘Joe’] = ‘purple’ overwrites ‘blue’
 PHP
More about arrays and the for-each loop
 All arrays are associative
 Associative arrays are arrays that use named keys that you
assign to them.
 Take our example of a list:
$colors = array(‘red’, ‘blue’, ‘green’, ‘black’, ‘yellow’);

 print_r($colors) gives:
Array(
[0] => red
[1] => blue
[2] => green
[3] => black
[4] => yellow
)
 Turns out all arrays in PHP are associative arrays
🞑 In the example above, keys were simply the index into the list
 Each element in an array will have a unique key, whether you
specify it or not.
 Specifying the key/index
 Thus, we can add to a list of elements with any
arbitrary index
🞑 Usingan index that already existswill overwrite the
value
$colors = array(‘red’, ‘blue’, ‘green’, ‘black’, ‘yellow’);
$colors[5] = ‘gray’; // the next element is gray
$colors[8] = ‘pink’;// not the next index, works anyways
$colors[7] = ‘orange’ // out of order works as well
Array functions
 isset($array_name[$key_value]) tells whether a variable
is set, which means that it has to be declared and is not NULL.
 unset($array_name[$key_value]) removes the key-value
mapping associated with $key_value in the array
🞑 The unset() function does not “re-index” and will leave

gaps in the indices of a list of elements since it simply

removes the key-value pairing without touching any other
elements
 array_keys($array_name) and
array_values($array_name) returns lists of the keys and
values of the array
Adding elements without specifying the
key
 Recall that we did not specify the key when adding to a
list of elements:
$colors = array('red', 'blue', 'green', 'black',
'yellow');
$colors[] = 'purple';
 PHP automatically takes the largest integer key that has ever
been in the array, and adds 1 to get the new key
$favorite_colors = array(“Joe” => “blue”, “Elena”
=> “green”, “Mark” => “brown”, “Adrian” =>
“black”, “Charles” => “red”);
$favorite_colors[] = 'new color 1'; // key is 0
$favorite_colors[7] = 'another new color';
$favorite_colors[] = 'yet another color'; // key is 8
unset($favorite_colors[8]);
$favorite_colors[] = 'color nine'; // key is 9, the old
// maximum is 8 even though it no longer exists!
The for-each loop
 The for-each loops allow for easy iteration over all
elements of an array.
foreach ($array_name as $value) {
code here
}
foreach ($array_name as $key => $value) {
code here
}

foreach ($colors as $color) {

echo $color; // simply prints each color
}
foreach ($colors as $number => color) {
echo “$number => $color”; // prints color with index
// to change an element:
// $colors[$number] = $new_color;}
isset() Function
 The isset() function checks whether a variable is set, which means
that it has to be declared and is not NULL.
 This function returns true if the variable exists and is not NULL,
otherwise it returns false.
Note: If multiple variables are supplied, then this function will return true
only if all of the variables are set.
 Example: Check whether a variable is empty. Also check
whether the variable is set/declared. Example for Array:
<?php $a = array ('test' => 1,
'hello' => NULL, 'pie' =>
$a = 0;// True because $a is set 3.1)
if (isset($a)) { If (isset($a['test'])
echo "Variable 'a' is set.<br>"; //True
{
}
Some code
$b = null; // False because $b is NULL }
if (isset($b)) { If (isset($a[‘hello'])
echo "Variable 'b' is set."; //false
{
}?> Some code}
 PHP
HTTP Requests and Forms
Passing information to the server
 Sometimes, we require additional values be
passed from client to server
🞑 Login: username and password

🞑 Forminformation to be stored on server

 GET request: pass information via the URL
🞑 http://www.yourdomain.com/yourpage.php?firstparam
=firstvalue&secondparam=secondvalue or
🞑 localhost/yourpage.php?firstparam =firstvalue &
secondparam=secondvalue
🞑 Access values server-side using $_GET superglobal
 $_GET[‘firstparam’] => ‘firstvalue’
 $_GET[‘secondparam’] => ‘secondvalue’
 Passing information to the server Example

 Client-side: <html> <head> <title> Passing Information </title>

</head>
<body>
<a href="ICE_dept.php?Uni_name=PUST &
Dept_name=ICE"> ICE Department</a>
</body> </html>
 Server-side: <html> <head> <title> Receiving Information</title>
</head>
<body>
<label> University Name: </label>
<?php echo $_GET['Uni_name']; ?>
<label> Department Name: </label>
<?php echo $_GET['Dept_name']; ?>
</body> </html>
When to use $_GET vs. $_POST
 GET requests are sent via the URL, and can thus
be cached, bookmarked, shared, etc
 GET requests are limited by the length of the URL
 POST requests are not exposed in the URL and
should be used for sensitive data
 There is no limit to the amount of information
passed via POST
Dealing with forms
 Forms are generally used to collect data, whether the
data needs to be stored on the server (registration) or
checked against the server (login)
 2 components to a form:
🞑The HTML generating the form itself
🞑The server-side script that the form data is sent to
(via GET or POST), taking care of the processing
involved
 Server should respond appropriately, redirecting
the user to the appropriate destination or
generating the appropriate page
Forms: client-side
<html>
<head>
<title> A Form Example </title>
</head><body>
<form action="welcome.php" method="post">
Name: <br /> <input type="text" name="name" /><br />
Phone Number: <br /> <input type="text" name="phone" /><br />
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>

 form action – where to send the form data

 method – how to send the data (GET or POST)
 Name attributes become the keysusedto accessthe
corresponding fields in the $_GET or $_POST arrays
Forms: server-side

<html>
<head><title>This is welcome.php</title></head>
<body>
The name that was submitted was: &nbsp;
<?php echo $_POST['name']; ?><br />
The phone number that was submitted was: &nbsp;
<?php echo $_POST['phone']; ?><br />
</body>
</html>

 A simple PHP file that displays what was entered

into the form
🞑 Can do many other things server-side depending on the
situation
 Note the use of $_POST