In this post, we will understand the differences between 'for' and 'foreach' loops in PHP −
The 'for' loop
It is an iterative loop that repeats a set of code till a specified condition is reached. It is used to execute a set of code for a specific number of times. Here, the number of times is the iterator variable.
Syntax:
for( initialization; condition; increment/decrement ) {
// code to iterate and execute
}- Initialization: It is used to initialize the iterator variables. It also helps execute them one at a time without running the conditional statement at the beginning of the loop's condition.
- Condition: This statement is executed and if the condition returns a True value, the loop continues and the statements within it are executed. If the condition gives a False value, the execution comes out of the loop.
- Increment: It increments/increases the counter in the loop. It is executed at the end of every iteration without a break.
- It doesn't hide the iteration.
- It is complex in comparison to 'foreach' loop.
- It takes more time to execute in comparison to 'foreach' loop.
Let us see an example −
<?php
for($i = 1; $i <= 2; $i++) {
echo $i . " Hi \n";
}
?>The 'foreach' loop
- It iterates over the elements of the array data structure.
- It hides the iteration.
- It is simple.
- It performs better in comparison to 'for' loop.
- It takes less time for the iteration.
Syntax:
foreach( $array as $element ) {
// PHP Code to execute
}
foreach( $array as $key => $element) {
// PHP Code to execute
}Example
<?php
$peop = array( "Will", "Jane", "Harold" );
foreach( $ peop as $element ) {
echo $element . "<br>";
}
?>Output
Will Jane Harold
Conclusion
In this post, we understood about the significant differences between the 'for' and 'foreach' loop in PHP.