Scribd
Upload
171 views

PHP Variables - Data Types and Constants

This document discusses PHP variables, data types, and constants. It explains that variables store data and their values can change, variables are declared with a dollar sign followed by the name, and variable names must start with a letter or underscore. It also summarizes the eight primitive data types in PHP including integers, floats, strings, booleans, arrays, objects, resources, and NULL. Additionally, it provides details on defining and using constants in PHP through the define() function or const keyword.

Uploaded by

Kalash Shandilya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
171 views

PHP Variables - Data Types and Constants

This document discusses PHP variables, data types, and constants. It explains that variables store data and their values can change, variables are declared with a dollar sign followed by the name, and variable names must start with a letter or underscore. It also summarizes the eight primitive data types in PHP including integers, floats, strings, booleans, arrays, objects, resources, and NULL. Additionally, it provides details on defining and using constants in PHP through the define() function or const keyword.

Uploaded by

Kalash Shandilya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 21

PHP VARIABLES, DATA

TYPES AND
CONSTANTS
PHP Variables
• Variables are used to store data, like string of text,
numbers, etc. Variable values can change over the course
of a script. Here're some important things to know about
variables:

• In PHP variable can be declared as: $var_name = value;


Naming Conventions for PHP Variables
These are the following rules for naming a PHP variable:

• All variables in PHP start with a $ sign, followed by the


name of the variable.
• A variable name must start with a letter or the underscore
character _.
• A variable name cannot start with a number.
• A variable name in PHP can only contain alpha-numeric
characters and underscores (A-z, 0-9, and _).
• A variable name cannot contain spaces.
• PHP variables are case-sensitive, so $name and $NAME
both are treated as different variable.
Data Types in PHP
• PHP supports total eight primitive data types:
- Integer
- Float
- String
- Booleans
- Array
- Object
- Resource
- NULL
PHP Integers
• Integers are whole numbers, without a decimal point (..., -
2, -1, 0, 1, 2, ...).
PHP Floating Point Numbers or Doubles
• Floating point numbers (also known as "floats", "doubles",
or "real numbers") are decimal or fractional numbers
PHP Strings
• Strings are sequences of characters, where every
character is the same as a byte.

• A string can hold letters, numbers, and special characters


and it can be as large as up to 2GB.

• The simplest way to specify a string is to enclose it in


single quotes (e.g. 'Hello world!'), however you can also
use double quotes ("Hello world!").
PHP Booleans
• Booleans are like a switch it has only two possible values
either 1 (true) or 0 (false).
PHP Arrays
• An array is a variable that can hold more than one value
at a time.

• It is useful to aggregate a series of related items together,


for example a set of country or city names.

• An array is formally defined as an indexed collection of


data values.

• Each index (also known as the key) of an array is unique


and references a corresponding value.
PHP Object
• An object is a data type that not only allows storing data
but also information on, how to process that data.
• An object is a specific instance of a class which serve as
templates for objects.
• Objects are created based on this template via the new
keyword.
• Every object has properties and methods corresponding
to those of its parent class.
• Every object instance is completely independent, with its
own properties and methods, and can thus be
manipulated independently of other objects of the same
class.
PHP Null
• The special NULL value is used to represent empty
variables in PHP.

• A variable of type NULL is a variable without any data.


NULL is the only possible value of type null.
PHP Resources
• A resource is a special variable, holding a reference to an
external resource.

• Resource variables typically hold special handlers to


opened files and database connections.
Constants
• A constant is a name or an identifier for a fixed value.

• Constant are like variables, except that once they are


defined, they cannot be undefined or changed.

• PHP constants can be defined by 2 ways:


- Using define() function
- Using const keyword
Constants(contd.)
• PHP constant: define() - Use the define() function to
create a constant. It defines constant at run time.

define(name, value)

- name: It specifies the constant name.


- value: It specifies the constant value.
Constants(contd.)
<?php
// case-sensitive constant name
define("WISHES", "Good Evening");
echo WISHES;
?>

OUTPUT:
Good Evening
Constants(contd.)
• PHP constant: const keyword - PHP introduced a
keyword const to create a constant. The const keyword
defines constants at compile time. It is a language
construct, not a function. The constant defined using
const keyword are case-sensitive.

<?php
const WISHES="Good day";
echo WISHES;
?>
OUTPUT:
Good day
Constants(contd.)
• Constant() function - There is another way to print the
value of constants using constant() function.

• The syntax for the following constant function:

constant (name)
Constants(contd.)
<?php
define("WISHES", "Good Evening");
echo WISHES. "<br>";
echo constant("WISHES");
//both are similar
?>

OUTPUT:
Good Evening
Good Evening
Constants(contd.)
• PHP Constant Arrays - In PHP, you can create an Array
constant using the define() function.

<?php
define("courses", [
"PHP",
"HTML",
"CSS"
]);
echo courses[0];
?>
OUTPUT:
PHP
Constants(contd.)
• PHP Constant Arrays - In PHP, you can also create an
Array constant using const keyword.

<?php
const WISHES=array("PHP",
"HTML",
"CSS");
echo WISHES[0];
?>

OUTPUT:
PHP
Constants(contd.)
• Constants are Global - Constants are automatically
global and can be used across the entire script.

<?php
define("WISHES", "Good Evening");

function test() {
echo WISHES;
}
test();
?>

OUTPUT:
Good Evening

You might also like