Detailed Guide to Common PHP Conditional Operators with Examples

Overview of PHP Conditional Operators

PHP conditional operators are used to control the execution flow of code based on different conditions. Mastering these operators is essential for writing efficient and readable PHP code.

Assignment (=)

Used to assign a value to a variable.

<span class="fun">$x = 5;</span>

Identical (===)

Used to compare whether both the type and value of two variables are identical.

if ($x === 5) {
  // code block
}

Not Equal (!= or !==)

Used to check whether two values are not equal.

if ($x != 5) {
  // code block
}

Greater Than (>)

Used to compare two values; returns true if the left value is greater than the right value.

if ($x > 5) {
  // code block
}

Less Than (<)

Used to compare two values; returns true if the left value is less than the right value.

if ($x < 5) {
  // code block
}

Greater Than or Equal (>=)

Used to compare two values; returns true if the left value is greater than or equal to the right value.

if ($x >= 5) {
  // code block
}

Less Than or Equal (<=)

Used to compare two values; returns true if the left value is less than or equal to the right value.

if ($x <= 5) {
  // code block
}

Logical AND (&&)

Used to combine two conditions; returns true only if both conditions are true.

if ($x > 5 && $x < 10) {
  // code block
}

Logical OR (||)

Used to combine two conditions; returns true if at least one condition is true.

if ($x > 5 || $x < 10) {
  // code block
}

Negation (!)

Used to invert a boolean value, turning true into false and false into true.

if (!($x > 5)) {
  // code block
}

Summary

Mastering PHP conditional operators helps developers control program logic more flexibly. The assignment, comparison, and logical operators introduced in this article are the most commonly used types in everyday development.