Cheatsheets / Learn PHP: Introduction

PHP Strings, Numbers, and Variables

Parsing Variables within PHP Strings

In PHP, variables can be parsed within strings specified with $my_var = "cat";
double quotes ( " ).
This means that within the string, the computer will replace an
occurence of a variable with that variable’s value. echo "There is one $my_var on the mat";
When additional valid identifier characters (ie. characters that
could be included in a variable name) are intended to appear
/* If there were three cats, then you can
adjacent to the variable’s value, the variable name can be
wrapped in curly braces {} , thus avoiding confusion as to the type: */
variable’s name. echo "There are three {$my_var}s on the mat ";
/* The curly braces help to avoid confusion
between the variable name and the letter s, so
PHP does not consider the variable name as
my_vars */

Reassignment of PHP Variables

In PHP, variables are assigned values with the assignment $var1 = "Bob";
operator ( = ). The same variable can later be reassigned a new
echo $var1;
value using the same operator.
This process is known as reassignment. // var1 holds the value "Bob"

$var1 = "John";
echo $var1;
// var1 now holds the value "John"

Concatenating Strings in PHP

In PHP, if you want to join two strings together, you need to use echo "Hello,"." welcome to Codecademy!";
the . operator.
// prints - Hello, welcome to Codecademy!
This process is called concatenation. Put the . operator
between the two strings in order to join them.
Note that strings are joined as-is, without inserting a whitespace
character. So if you need to put spaces, you need to
incorporate the whitespace manually within the string.
Appending a String in PHP

In PHP, there is a shortcut for appending a new string to the $str = "Hello, ";
end of another string. This can be easily done with the string
$str .= "World!";
concatenation assignment operator ( .= ).
This operator will append the value on its right to the value on
its left and then reassign the result to the variable on its left. echo $str;
// Output: Hello, World!

PHP Strings

In PHP, a string is a sequence of characters surrounded by echo "Hello 123"; // prints Hello 123
double quotation marks. It can be as long as you want and
contain any letters, numbers, symbols, and spaces.

PHP copying variables

In PHP, one variable’s value can be assigned to another variable. $original = "Ice T";
This creates a copy of that variable’s value and assigns the new
$copy = $original;
variable name to it.
Changes to the original variable will not affect the copy and $orginal = "Iced Tea";
changes to the copy will not affect the original. These variables echo $copy; // "Ice T";
are entirely separate entities.

PHP String Escape Sequences

In PHP, sometimes special characters must be escaped in order echo "Hello, World!\nThis is a String!";
to include them in a string. Escape sequences start with a
/* prints-
backslash character ( \ ).
There are a variety of escape sequences that can be used to Hello, World!
accomplish different tasks. For example, to include a new line This is a String!
within a string, the sequence \n can be used. To include
*/
double quotation marks, the sequence \" can be used.
Similarly, to include single quotes, the sequence \' can be
used.
PHP Evaluation Order during Assignment

In PHP, when an assignment takes place, operations to the right $var1 = 5 + 6 / 2;

of the assignment operator ( = ) will be evaluated to a single
/* Here, the operations to the right of the
value first. The result of these operations will then be assigned
to the variable. assignment operator will be carried out first.
So first 6 will be divided by 2 (6 / 2 = 3).
Then 3 will be added to 5 (5 + 3 = 8).
Finally, the value 8 will be assigned to
$var1. */

echo $var1;
// Output: 8

PHP Variables

In PHP, variables are assigned values with the assignment $my_variable = "Hello";
operator ( = ).
Variable names can contain numbers, letters, and underscores
( _ ). A sigil ( $ ) must always precede a variable name. They $another_cool_variable = 25;
cannot start with a number and they cannot have spaces or any
special characters.
The convention in PHP is to use snake case for variable naming;
this means that lowercase words are delimited with an
underscore character ( _ ). Variable names are case-sensitive.

PHP Reference Assignment Operator

In PHP, the reference assignment operator ( =& ) is used to $var1 = 5;

create a new variable as an alias to an existing spot in memory.
$var2 =& $var1;
In other words, the reference assignment operator ( =& )
creates two variable names which point to the same value. So,
changes to one variable will affect the other, without having to $var1 = 6;
copy the existing data.
echo $var2;
// Output: 6
Integer Values in PHP

PHP supports integer values for numbers.

Integers are the set of all whole numbers, their negative
counterparts, and zero. In other words, an integer is a number
of the set ℤ = {…, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, …}.

Exponentiation Operator in PHP

PHP supports an arithmetic operator for exponentiation ( ** ). $n = 4;

This operator gives the result of raising the value on the left to
echo 2 ** 4;
the power of the value on the right.
// Output: 16

Arithmetic Operators in PHP

PHP supports arithmetic operators for addition ( + ), $a = 6 / 3;

subtraction ( - ), multiplication ( * ), and division ( / ).
// The variable $a will hold an integer value,
PHP operators will return integers whenever the result of an
operation evaluates to a whole number. If the result evaluates since the operation evaluates to a whole
to a fraction or decimal, then it will return a floating point number.
number.

$b = 7 / 3;
// The variable $b will hold a floating point
value, since the operation evaluates to a
decimal number.
The Modulo Operator

PHP supports a modulo operator ( % ). The modulo operator $a = 9 % 2.3;

returns the remainder of the left operand divided by the right
//2.3 is converted to the integer, 2. The
operand. Operands of a modulo operation are converted to
integers prior to performing the operation. The operation remainder of 9 % 2 is 1. So the variable $a
returns an integer with the same sign as the dividend. will hold the integer value 1.

$b = -19 % 4;
//The remainder of this operation is -3. So
the variable $b will hold the integer value
-3.

$c = 20 % 2;
//The remainder of this operation is 0. So the
variable $c will hold the integer value 0.

Floating Point Numbers in PHP

PHP supports floating-point (decimal) numbers. They can be

used to represent fractional quantities as well as precise
measurements. Some examples of floating point numbers are
1.5 , 4.231 , 2.0 , etc.

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