Introduction to

PHP Tutorial For Beginners

www.genial-code.com
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 About the PHP Language
• Syntax inspired by C
- Curly braces, semicolons, no signficant whitespace
• Syntax inspired by perl
- Dollar signs to start variable names, associative arrays
• Extends HTML to add segments of PHP within an HTML file
 Philosophy of PHP
• You are a responsible and intelligent programmer.
• You know what you want to do.
• Some flexibility in syntax is OK - style choices are OK.
• Let’s make this as convenient as possible.
• Sometimes errors fail silently.
<h1>Hello from Dr. Chuck's HTML Page</h1>
<p>
<?php
echo "Hi there.\n";
$answer = 6 * 7;
echo "The answer is $answer, what ";
echo "was the question again?\n";
?>
</p>
<p>Yes another paragraph.</p>
<h1>Hello from Dr. Chuck's HTML Page</h1>
<p>
<?php
echo "Hi there.\n";
$answer = 6 * 7;
echo "The answer is $answer, what ";
echo "was the question again?\n";
?>
</p>
<p>Yes another paragraph.</p>
 PHP from the Command Line
• You can run PHP from the <?php
echo("Hello World!");
command line - the output
echo("\n");
simply comes out on the ?>
terminal.
• It does not have to be part of
a request-response cycle.
Basic Syntax
 Keywords
Abstract and array() as break case catch class clone
const continue declare default do else elseif end
declare endfor endforeach endif endswitch endwhile
extends final for foreach function global goto if
implements interface instanceof namespace new or
private protected public static switch $this throw try
use var while xor
 Variable Names
• Start with a dollar sign ($) followed by a letter or underscore,
followed by any number of letters, numbers, or underscores
• Case matters

$abc = 12; abc = 12;

$total = 0; $2php = 0;
$largest_so_far = 0; $bad-punc = 0;

http://php.net/manual/en/language.variables.basics.php
 Variable Name Weirdness
Things that look like variables but are missing a dollar sign can be
confusing.

$x = 2; $x = 2;
$y = x + 5; y = $x + 5;
print $y; print $x;

5 Parse error
 Variable Name Weirdness
Things that look like variables but are missing a dollar sign as an
array index are unpredictable....

$x = 5;
$y = array("x" => "Hello");
print $y[x];

Hello
 Strings / Different + Awesome
• String literals can use single quotes or double quotes.
• The backslash (\) is used as an “escape” character.
• Strings can span multiple lines - the newline is part of the
string.
• In double-quoted strings, variable values are expanded.
• Concatenation is the "." not "+" (more later).

http://php.net/manual/en/language.types.string.php
<?php Double Quote
echo "this is a simple string\n";

echo "You can also have embedded newlines in 
strings this way as it is
okay to do";

// Outputs: This will expand: 
// a newline
echo "This will expand: \na newline";

// Outputs: Variables do 12
$expand = 12;
echo "Variables do $expand\n";
<?php
echo 'this is a simple string';
Single Quote

echo 'You can also have embedded newlines in 
strings this way as it is
okay to do';

// Outputs: Arnold once said: "I'll be back"
echo 'Arnold once said: "I\'ll be back"';

// Outputs: This will not expand: \n a newline
echo 'This will not expand: \n a newline';

// Outputs: Variables do not $expand $either
echo 'Variables do not $expand $either';
 Comments in PHP 
    echo 'This is a test'; // This is a c++ style comment
    /* This is a multi line comment
       yet another line of comment */
    echo 'This is yet another test';
    echo 'One Final Test'; # This is a shell-style comment

http://php.net/manual/en/language.basic-syntax.comments.php
 Output
<?php
• echo is a language construct - can $x = "15" + 27;
be treated like a function with one echo $x;
parameter. Without parentheses, echo("\n");
it accepts multiple parameters. echo $x, "\n";
print $x;
• print is a function - only one print "\n";
print($x);
parameter, but parentheses are
print("\n");
optional so it can look like a
?>
language construct.
Expressions
 Expressions
• Completely normal like other languages ( + - / * )
• More agressive implicit type conversion

<?php
$x = "15" + 27;
echo($x); 42
echo("\n");
?>
 Expressions
• Expressions evaluate to a value. The value can be a string,
number, boolean, etc.
• Expressions often use operations and function calls. There is
an order of evaluation when there is more than one operator in
an expression.
• Expressions can also produce objects like arrays.
 Operators of Note
• Increment / Decrement ( ++ -- )

• String concatenation ( . )

• Equality ( == != )

• Identity ( === !== )

• Ternary ( ? : )

• Side-effect Assignment ( += -= .= etc.)

• Ignore the rarely-used bitwise operators ( >> << ^ | & )

 Increment / Decrement
• These operators allow you to both retrieve and increment /
decrement a variable.
• They are generally avoided in civilized code.

$x = 12;
$y = 15 + $x++; x is 13 and y is 27
echo "x is $x and y is $y \n";
 Increment / Decrement
• These operators allow you to both retrieve and increment /
decrement a variable.
• They are generally avoided in civilized code.

$x = 12;
$y = 15 + $x; x is 13 and y is 27
$x = $x + 1;
echo "x is $x and y is $y \n";
 String Concatenation
PHP uses the period character for concatenation, because the plus
character would instruct PHP to do the best it could to add the two
things together, converting if necessary.

$a = 'Hello ' . 'World!'; Hello World!

echo $a . "\n";
 Ternary
The ternary operator comes from C. It allows conditional
expressions. It is like a one-line if-then-else. Like all “contraction”
syntaxes, we must use it carefully.
$www = 123;
$msg = $www > 100 ? "Large" : "Small" ;
echo "First: $msg \n";
$msg = ( $www % 2 == 0 ) ? "Even" : "Odd";
echo "Second: $msg \n"; First: Large
$msg = ( $www % 2 ) ? "Odd" : "Even";
Second: Odd
echo "Third: $msg \n";
Third: Odd
 Side-Effect Assignment
These are pure contractions. Use them sparingly.
echo "\n";
$out = "Hello";
$out = $out . " ";
$out .= "World!";
$out .= "\n"; Hello World!
echo $out; Count: 1
$count = 0;
$count += 1;
echo "Count: $count\n";
 Conversion / Casting
As PHP evaluates expressions, sometimes values in the expression
need to be converted from one type to another as the computations are
done.

• PHP does aggressive implicit type conversion (casting).

• You can also make type conversion (casting) explicit with

casting operators.
 Casting In PHP, division forces
operands to be floating point.
PHP converts expression
$a = 56; $b = 12; values silently and
$c = $a / $b;
agressively.
echo "C: $c\n";
$d = "100" + 36.25 + TRUE;
echo "D: ". $d . "\n";
echo "D2: ". (string) $d . "\n"; C: 4.66666666667
$e = (int) 9.9 - 1; D: 137.25
echo "E: $e\n"; D2: 137.25
$f = "sam" + 25; E: 8
echo "F: $f\n";
F: 25
$g = "sam" . 25;
echo "G: $g\n";
G: sam25
 PHP vs. Python
$x = "100" + 25; x = int("100") + 25
echo "X: $x\n"; print "X:", x
$y = "100" . 25; y = "100" + str(25)
echo "Y: $y\n"; print "Y:", y
$z = "sam" + 25; z = int("sam") + 25
echo "Z: $z\n"; print "Z:", z

X: 125 X: 125
Y: 10025 Y: 10025
Z: 25 Traceback:"cast.py", line 5
z = int("sam") + 25;
ValueError: invalid literal
 Casting
The concatenation operator tries to
convert its operands to strings.
echo "A".FALSE."B\n"; TRUE becomes an integer 1 and then
echo "X".TRUE."Y\n"; becomes a string. FALSE is “not
there” - it is even “smaller” than zero,
at least when it comes to width.
AB
X1Y
 Equality versus Identity
The equality operator (==) in PHP is far more agressive than in
most other languages when it comes to data conversion during
expression evaluation.

if ( 123 == "123" ) print ("Equality 1\n");

if ( 123 == "100"+23 ) print ("Equality 2\n");
if ( FALSE == "0" ) print ("Equality 3\n");
if ( (5 < 6) == "2"-"1" ) print ("Equality 4\n");
if ( (5 < 6) === TRUE ) print ("Equality 5\n");
http://php.net/manual/en/function.strpos.php
$vv = "Hello World!";
echo "First:" . strpos($vv, "Wo") . "\n";
echo "Second: " . strpos($vv, "He") . "\n";
echo "Third: " . strpos($vv, "ZZ") . "\n";
if (strpos($vv, "He") == FALSE ) echo "Wrong A\n";
if (strpos($vv, "ZZ") == FALSE ) echo "Right B\n";
if (strpos($vv, "He") !== FALSE ) echo "Right C\n";
if (strpos($vv, "ZZ") === FALSE ) echo "Right D\n";
print_r(FALSE); print FALSE;
echo "Where were they?\n"; First:6
Second: 0
Third:
Wrong A
Right B
Right C
Beware FALSE variables. They are detectable but not visible... Right D
Where were they?
Control Structures
 Conditional - if
• Logical operators ( == != < > <= >= && || ! )
• Curly braces

<?php
$ans = 42;
if ( $ans == 42 ) {
print "Hello world!\n";
} else {
print "Wrong answer\n"; Hello World!
}
?>
 Whitespace Does Not Matter
<?php
$ans = 42;
if ( $ans == 42 ) {
print "Hello world!\n";
} else {
print "Wrong answer\n";
}
?>

<?php $ans = 42; if ( $ans == 42 ) { print

"Hello world!\n"; } else { print "Wrong answer\n"; }
?>
 Which Style do You Prefer?
<?php
$ans = 42;
<?php if ( $ans == 42 )
$ans = 42; {
if ( $ans == 42 ) { print "Hello world!\n";
print "Hello world!\n"; }
} else { else
print "Wrong answer\n"; {
} print "Wrong answer\n";
?> }
?>
Aesthetics
 Multi-way x<2
yes
print 'Small'

$x = 7; no
yes
if ( $x < 2 ) {
x<10 print 'Medium'
print "Small\n";
} elseif ( $x < 10 ) { no
print "Medium\n";
} else { print 'LARGE'
print "LARGE\n";
}

print "All done\n";

print 'All Done'
Curly Braces are Not Required
if ($page == "Home") echo "You selected Home";
elseif ($page == "About") echo "You selected About";
elseif ($page == "News") echo "You selected News";
elseif ($page == "Login") echo "You selected Login";
elseif ($page == "Links") echo "You selected Links";

if ($page == "Home") { echo "You selected Home"; }

elseif ($page == "About") { echo "You selected About"; }
elseif ($page == "News") { echo "You selected News"; }
elseif ($page == "Login") { echo "You selected Login"; }
elseif ($page == "Links") { echo "You selected Links"; }
 $fuel = 10;
while ($fuel > 1) {
print "Vroom vroom\n";
}

A while loop is a “zero-trip”

loop with the test at the top $fuel = 10;
before the first iteration starts. while ($fuel > 1) {
We hand construct the iteration print "Vroom vroom\n";
$fuel = $fuel - 1;
variable to implement a
}
counted loop.
$count = 1;
do {
echo "$count times 5 is " . $count * 5;
echo "\n";
} while (++$count <= 5);

A do-while loop is a “one-trip” 1 times 5 is 5

loop with the test at the bottom 2 times 5 is 10
after the first iteration 3 times 5 is 15
completes. 4 times 5 is 20
5 times 5 is 25
for($count=1; $count<=6; $count++ ) {
echo "$count times 6 is " . $count * 6;
echo "\n";
} 1 times 6 is 6
2 times 6 is 12
3 times 6 is 18
A for loop is the simplest way 4 times 6 is 24
to construct a counted loop. 5 times 6 is 30
6 times 6 is 36
 Loop runs while TRUE (top-test)
Before loop starts Run after each iteration.

for($count=1; $count<=6; $count++ ) {

echo "$count times 6 is " . $count * 6;
echo "\n";
} 1 times 6 is 6
2 times 6 is 12
3 times 6 is 18
A for loop is the simplest way 4 times 6 is 24
to construct a counted loop. 5 times 6 is 30
6 times 6 is 36
 Breaking Out of a Loop
• The break statement ends the current loop and jumps to the statement
immediately following the loop.

• It is like a loop test that can happen anywhere in the body of the loop.

for($count=1; $count<=600; $count++ ) { Count: 1

if ( $count == 5 ) break; Count: 2
echo "Count: $count\n"; Count: 3
} Count: 4
echo "Done\n"; Done
 Finishing an Iteration with continue
The continue statement ends the current iteration. jumps to the top of the
loop, and starts the next iteration.

Count: 1
for($count=1; $count<=10; $count++ ) { Count: 3
if ( ($count % 2) == 0 ) continue; Count: 5
echo "Count: $count\n"; Count: 7
} Count: 9
echo "Done\n"; Done
 Summary
This is a sprint through some of the unique
language features of PHP.