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Assignment Operators

The basic assignment operator is "=". Your first inclination might be to think of this as "equal to". Don't. It really means that the left operand gets set to the value of the expression on the right (that is, "gets set to").

The value of an assignment expression is the value assigned. That is, the value of " $a = 3 " is 3. This allows you to do some tricky things: <?php $a = ( $b = 4 ) + 5 ; // $a is equal to 9 now, and $b has been set to 4. ?>

In addition to the basic assignment operator, there are "combined operators" for all of the binary arithmetic , array union and string operators that allow you to use a value in an expression and then set its value to the result of that expression. For example: <?php $a = 3 ; $a += 5 ; // sets $a to 8, as if we had said: $a = $a + 5; $b = "Hello " ; $b .= "There!" ; // sets $b to "Hello There!", just like $b = $b . "There!"; ?>

Note that the assignment copies the original variable to the new one (assignment by value), so changes to one will not affect the other. This may also have relevance if you need to copy something like a large array inside a tight loop.

An exception to the usual assignment by value behaviour within PHP occurs with object s, which are assigned by reference. Objects may be explicitly copied via the clone keyword.

Assignment by Reference

Assignment by reference is also supported, using the " $var = &$othervar; " syntax. Assignment by reference means that both variables end up pointing at the same data, and nothing is copied anywhere.

Example #1 Assigning by reference

The new operator returns a reference automatically, as such assigning the result of new by reference is an error.

The above example will output:

More information on references and their potential uses can be found in the References Explained section of the manual.

Arithmetic Assignment Operators

Bitwise assignment operators, other assignment operators.

  • arithmetic operators
  • bitwise operators
  • null coalescing operator

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PHP Tutorial

Php advanced, mysql database, php examples, php reference, php operators.

Operators are used to perform operations on variables and values.

PHP divides the operators in the following groups:

  • Arithmetic operators
  • Assignment operators
  • Comparison operators
  • Increment/Decrement operators
  • Logical operators
  • String operators
  • Array operators
  • Conditional assignment operators

PHP Arithmetic Operators

The PHP arithmetic operators are used with numeric values to perform common arithmetical operations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication etc.

PHP Assignment Operators

The PHP assignment operators are used with numeric values to write a value to a variable.

The basic assignment operator in PHP is "=". It means that the left operand gets set to the value of the assignment expression on the right.

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PHP Comparison Operators

The PHP comparison operators are used to compare two values (number or string):

PHP Increment / Decrement Operators

The PHP increment operators are used to increment a variable's value.

The PHP decrement operators are used to decrement a variable's value.

PHP Logical Operators

The PHP logical operators are used to combine conditional statements.

PHP String Operators

PHP has two operators that are specially designed for strings.

PHP Array Operators

The PHP array operators are used to compare arrays.

PHP Conditional Assignment Operators

The PHP conditional assignment operators are used to set a value depending on conditions:

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Home » PHP Tutorial » PHP Assignment Operators

PHP Assignment Operators

Summary : in this tutorial, you will learn about the most commonly used PHP assignment operators.

Introduction to the PHP assignment operator

PHP uses the = to represent the assignment operator. The following shows the syntax of the assignment operator:

On the left side of the assignment operator ( = ) is a variable to which you want to assign a value. And on the right side of the assignment operator ( = ) is a value or an expression.

When evaluating the assignment operator ( = ), PHP evaluates the expression on the right side first and assigns the result to the variable on the left side. For example:

In this example, we assigned 10 to $x, 20 to $y, and the sum of $x and $y to $total.

The assignment expression returns a value assigned, which is the result of the expression in this case:

It means that you can use multiple assignment operators in a single statement like this:

In this case, PHP evaluates the right-most expression first:

The variable $y is 20 .

The assignment expression $y = 20 returns 20 so PHP assigns 20 to $x . After the assignments, both $x and $y equal 20.

Arithmetic assignment operators

Sometimes, you want to increase a variable by a specific value. For example:

How it works.

  • First, $counter is set to 1 .
  • Then, increase the $counter by 1 and assign the result to the $counter .

After the assignments, the value of $counter is 2 .

PHP provides the arithmetic assignment operator += that can do the same but with a shorter code. For example:

The expression $counter += 1 is equivalent to the expression $counter = $counter + 1 .

Besides the += operator, PHP provides other arithmetic assignment operators. The following table illustrates all the arithmetic assignment operators:

Concatenation assignment operator

PHP uses the concatenation operator (.) to concatenate two strings. For example:

By using the concatenation assignment operator you can concatenate two strings and assigns the result string to a variable. For example:

  • Use PHP assignment operator ( = ) to assign a value to a variable. The assignment expression returns the value assigned.
  • Use arithmetic assignment operators to carry arithmetic operations and assign at the same time.
  • Use concatenation assignment operator ( .= )to concatenate strings and assign the result to a variable in a single statement.

PHP Assignment Operators

Php tutorial index.

PHP assignment operators applied to assign the result of an expression to a variable. = is a fundamental assignment operator in PHP. It means that the left operand gets set to the value of the assignment expression on the right.

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PHP Assignment Operators

In this tutorial, you shall learn about Assignment Operators in PHP, different Assignment Operators available in PHP, their symbols, and how to use them in PHP programs, with examples.

Assignment Operators

Assignment Operators are used to perform to assign a value or modified value to a variable.

Assignment Operators Table

The following table lists out all the assignment operators in PHP programming.

In the following program, we will take values in variables $x and $y , and perform assignment operations on these values using PHP Assignment Operators.

PHP Program

Assignment Operators in PHP

Assignment Operators Tutorials

The following tutorials cover each of the Assignment Operators in PHP in detail with examples.

  • PHP Simple Assignment
  • PHP Addition Assignment
  • PHP Subtraction Assignment
  • PHP Multiplication Assignment
  • PHP Division Assignment
  • PHP Modulus Assignment

In this PHP Tutorial , we learned about all the Assignment Operators in PHP programming, with examples.

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PHP Assignment Operators: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners

PHP - Assignment Operators

What Are Assignment Operators?

Before we dive into the deep end, let's start with the basics. Assignment operators in PHP are like the helpful assistants in your code kitchen. They take a value and assign it to a variable, much like you'd put ingredients into a mixing bowl. The most common assignment operator is the humble equals sign (=).

The Basic Assignment Operator (=)

Let's look at a simple example:

In this case, we're telling PHP, "Hey, please remember that my_age is 25." It's that simple!

Compound Assignment Operators

Now, let's spice things up a bit. PHP has a set of compound assignment operators that combine an arithmetic operation with assignment. These operators are like kitchen gadgets that chop and mix at the same time – they're real time-savers!

Here's a table of the compound assignment operators in PHP:

Let's break these down with some tasty examples!

The Addition Assignment Operator (+=)

Here, we started with 5 apples and added 3 more. The += operator does this in one swift motion!

The Subtraction Assignment Operator (-=)

Oops! Someone ate 2 cookies. The -= operator helps us keep track of our dwindling cookie supply.

The Multiplication Assignment Operator (*=)

Rabbits multiply fast, don't they? The *= operator helps us model this rapid growth!

The Division Assignment Operator (/=)

Sharing is caring! We've divided our pizza slices by 2, perhaps to share with a friend.

The Modulus Assignment Operator (%=)

This one's a bit tricky. It divides $candies by 5 and gives us the remainder. It's like asking, "If we share 17 candies among 5 people, how many are left over?"

The Exponentiation Assignment Operator (**=)

Bacteria can double every generation. This operator helps us calculate exponential growth easily!

String Concatenation Assignment Operator (.=)

Last but not least, let's talk about the string concatenation assignment operator. It's like a word game where we keep adding new words to make a sentence.

We started with "Hello" and added " World" to it. The .= operator does this joining for us in one step!

Practical Examples

Now that we've covered all the operators, let's put them to use in a fun little program:

This program simulates a simple game where a player's score changes based on various events. Each line demonstrates a different assignment operator in action.

And there you have it, folks! We've journeyed through the land of PHP assignment operators, from the simple = to the more complex compound operators. Remember, these operators are your friends – they're here to make your coding life easier and your programs more efficient.

Practice using these operators in your own code. Try creating a simple calculator or a text-based game. The more you use them, the more natural they'll become.

Happy coding, and may your variables always be correctly assigned!

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PHP Assignment Operators

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COMMENTS

  1. PHP: Assignment - Manual

    Assignment Operators. The basic assignment operator is "=". Your first inclination might be to think of this as "equal to". Don't. It really means that the left operand gets set to the value of the expression on the right (that is, "gets set to").

  2. PHP Operators - W3Schools

    PHP Assignment Operators. The PHP assignment operators are used with numeric values to write a value to a variable. The basic assignment operator in PHP is "=". It means that the left operand gets set to the value of the assignment expression on the right.

  3. PHP Assignment Operators

    Use PHP assignment operator (=) to assign a value to a variable. The assignment expression returns the value assigned. Use arithmetic assignment operators to carry arithmetic operations and assign at the same time. Use concatenation assignment operator (.=)to concatenate strings and assign the result to a variable in a single statement.

  4. Reference assignment operator in PHP, =& - Stack Overflow

    The symbol & is used in various ways in PHP to represent operations with "references". The PHP manual has a section titled References Explained which every PHP programmer should read. It's important to understand that references in PHP are not a data type, like a pointer, but a concept regarding how variables work.

  5. PHP Assignment Operators - W3Schools

    PHP Assignment Operators. PHP assignment operators applied to assign the result of an expression to a variable. = is a fundamental assignment operator in PHP. It means that the left operand gets set to the value of the assignment expression on the right. Operator.

  6. PHP assignment operators - w3resource

    Description. Assignment operators allow writing a value to a variable. The first operand must be a variable and the basic assignment operator is "=". The value of an assignment expression is the final value assigned to the variable. In addition to the regular assignment operator "=", several other assignment operators are composites of an ...

  7. PHP Assignment Operators - Tutorial Kart

    Assignment Operators are used to perform to assign a value or modified value to a variable. The following table lists out all the assignment operators in PHP programming. Assigns value of 5 to variable x. x += y. Assigns the result of x+y to x. x -= y. Assigns the result of x-y to x. x *= y. Assigns the result of x*y to x.

  8. PHP Manual: Assignment Operators - phpdoctest.github.io

    As of PHP 5, the new operator returns a reference automatically, so assigning the result of new by reference results in an E_DEPRECATED message in PHP 5.3 and later, and an E_STRICT message in earlier versions. For example, this code will result in a warning:

  9. PHP Assignment Operators: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners">PHP Assignment Operators: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners

    PHP Operators: PHP Assignment Operators: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners Hello there, aspiring PHP programmers! I'm thrilled to be your guide on this exciting journey into the world of PHP a...

  10. PHP Assignment Operators - PHP Operators - Phptpoint.com">PHP Assignment Operators - PHP Operators - Phptpoint.com

    Assignment Operators in PHP. There are a few other Operators that tend to do some arithmetic operations. and store the result in same. for eg the addition-assignment operator, represented. by the symbol +=, lets you simultaneously add and assign a new value to a variable. Common Assignment Operators.