PHP echo and print
In PHP, both echo and print are language constructs used to output strings. echo can output multiple strings separated by commas without parentheses, while `print` can only output one string and always returns 1.
Table of Content
- PHP echo statement
- PHP print statement
- Difference between echo and print statements in PHP
- Conclusion
PHP echo statement
It is a language construct and never behaves like a function, hence no parenthesis is required. But the developer can use parenthesis if they want. The end of the echo statement is identified by the semi-colon (‘;’). It output one or more strings. We can use ‘echo‘ to output one or more strings, numbers, variables, values, and results of expressions.
Below is some usage of echo statements in PHP:
Displaying Variables:
Displaying variables with echo statements is also as easy as displaying normal strings. The below example shows different ways to display variables with the help of a PHP echo statement.
<?php
// Defining the variables
$text = "Hello, World!";
$num1 = 10;
$num2 = 20;
// Echoing the variables
echo $text."\n";
echo $num1."+".$num2."=";
echo $num1 + $num2;
?>
Output:
Hello, World!
10+20=30
The (.) operator in the above code can be used to concatenate two strings in PHP and the “\n” is used for a new line and is also known as line-break. We will learn about these in further articles.
Displaying Strings
We can simply use the keyword echo followed by the string to be displayed within quotes. The below example shows how to display strings with PHP.
<?php
echo "Hello,This is a display string example!";
?>
Output:
Hello,This is a display string example!
Displaying Strings as multiple arguments
We can pass multiple string arguments to the echo statement instead of a single string argument, separating them by comma (‘,’) operator. For example, if we have two strings i.e “Hello” and “World” then we can pass them as (“Hello”, “World”).
<?php
echo "Multiple ","argument ","string!";
?>
Output:
Multiple argument string!
PHP print statement
The PHP print statement is similar to the echo statement and can be used alternative to echo many times. It is also a language construct, so we may not use parenthesis i.e print or print().
Displaying Variables:
Displaying variables with print statements is also the same as that of echo statements. The example below shows how to display variables with the help of a PHP print statement.
<?php
// Defining the variables
$text = "Hello, World!";
$num1 = 10;
$num2 = 20;
// Echoing the variables
print $text."\n";
print $num1."+".$num2."=";
print $num1 + $num2;
?>
Output:
Hello, World!
10+20=30
Displaying String of Text
We can display strings with the print statement in the same way we did with echo statements. The only difference is we cannot display multiple strings separated by comma(,) with a single print statement. The below example shows how to display strings with the help of a PHP print statement.
<?php
print "Hello, world!";
?>
Output:
Hello, world!
Difference between echo and print statements in PHP
The main difference between the print and echo statement is that echo does not behave like a function whereas print behaves like a function. The print statement can have only one argument at a time and thus can print a single string. Also, the print statement always returns a value of 1. Like an echo, the print statement can also be used to print strings and variables. Below are some examples of using print statements in PHP:
Note: Both are language constructs in PHP programs that are more or less the same as both are used to output data on the browser screen. The print statement is an alternative to echo.
S.No. | echo statement | print statement |
|---|---|---|
1. | echo accepts a list of arguments (multiple arguments can be passed), separated by commas. | print accepts only one argument at a time. |
2. | It returns no value or returns void. | It returns the value 1. |
3. | It displays the outputs of one or more strings separated by commas. | The print outputs only the strings. |
4. | It is comparatively faster than the print statement. | It is slower than an echo statement. |
Conclusion
One had to master both print and echo function for a PHP developer looking to build a dynamic and efficient web application. By understanding the basic difference between print and echo, leveraging their features, and more and more practice can take your coding skills to the next level, and you can create robust and user-friendly websites.