PHP Operators

PHP Operators : An operator that takes one or more values (or expressions, in programming jargon) and produces another value (so that the construct itself becomes an expression). PHP operator is a symbol used to perform operations on operands.
For example, "1 + 2 = 3" in this expression '+'' is an operator. It takes two values 1 and 2, performs addition operation on them to give 3.
PHP language supports following type of operators :
1. Arithmetic Operators
2. Assignment Operators
3. Comparison Operators
4. Logical Operators
5. Bitwise Operators
6. String Operators
7. Array Operators
8. Conditional Assignment Operators

PHP Arithmetic Operators

PHP arithmetic operators are used to perform common arithmetic operations with numeric values, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc.
Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20 then :

Operator Name Description Syntax Example
+ Addition Adds two operands $A + $B A + B will give 30
- Subtraction Subtracts second operand from the first $A - $B A - B will give -10
* Multiplication Multiply both operands $A * $B A * B will give 200
/ Division Divide numerator by de-numerator $B / $A B / A will give 2
% Modulus Modulus Operator and remainder of after an integer division $B % $A B % A will give 0
** Exponentiation Exponentiation Operator is used for raising the power $A ** $B Result of raising $A to the $B'th power
++ Increment operator Increment operator, increases integer value by one $A++ A++ will give 11
-- Decrement operator Decrement operator, decreases integer value by one $A-- A-- will give 9

PHP Assignment Operators

Assignment operators are used to assign values to different variables. The basic assignment operator is "=".

Operator Same as Description Example
A = B A = B Simple assignment operator, Assigns values from right side operands to left side operand C = A + B will assign value of A + B into C
A += B C = A + B Add AND assignment operator, It adds right operand to the left operand and assign the result to left operand A += B is equivalent to C = A + B
A -= B C = A - B Subtract AND assignment operator, It subtracts right operand from the left operand and assign the result to left operand A -= B is equivalent to C = A - B
A *= B C = A * B Multiply AND assignment operator, It multiplies right operand with the left operand and assign the result to left operand A *= B is equivalent to C = A * B
A /= B C = A / B Divide AND assignment operator, It divides left operand with the right operand and assign the result to left operand A /= B is equivalent to C = A / B
A %= B C = A % B Modulus AND assignment operator, It takes modulus using two operands and assign the result to left operand A %= B is equivalent to C = A % B

PHP Comparison Operators

These operators are used to compare two elements and output the result in boolean form. Here are comparison operators with syntax and operations, which PHP provides us:
Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20 then :

Operator Name Description Example
== Equal Checks if the value of two operands are equal or not, if yes then condition becomes true. (A == B) is not true.
=== Identical Checks if the value of two operands are equal or not (should be with same type), if yes then condition becomes true. (A === B) is not true.
!= Not equal Checks if the value of two operands are equal or not, if values are not equal then condition becomes true (A != B) is true.
<> Not equal Checks if the value of two operands are equal or not, if values are not equal then condition becomes true (A <> B) is true.
!== Not identical Checks if the value of two operands are equal or not (they are not of the same type), if yes then condition becomes true. (A !== B) is true.
> Greater than Checks if the value of left operand is greater than the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true. (A > B) is not true.
< Less than Checks if the value of left operand is less than the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true. (A < B) is true.
>= Greater than or equal to Checks if the value of left operand is greater than or equal to the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true (A >== B) is not true.
<= Less than or equal to Checks if the value of left operand is less than or equal to the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true (A <= B) is true.
<=> Spaceship Returns an integer less than, equal to, or greater than zero, depending on if $A is less than, equal to, or greater than $B. Introduced in PHP 7. (A <=> B) is -1.

PHP Logical Operators

Logical operators are used to perform bit-level operations on operands. These operators allow evaluation and manipulation of specific bits within an integer.
Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20 then :

Operator Name Description Example
and AND Called Logical AND operator. If both the operands are true then condition becomes true. (A and B) is true.
or OR Called Logical OR Operator. If any of the two operands are non zero then condition becomes true. (A or B) is true.
&& AND Called Logical AND operator. If both the operands are non zero then condition becomes true. (A && B) is true.
|| OR Called Logical OR Operator. If any of the two operands are non zero then condition becomes true. (A || B) is true.
! NOT Called Logical NOT Operator. Use to reverses the logical state of its operand. If a condition is true then Logical NOT operator will make false. !(A && B) is false.

PHP Bitwise Operators

The bitwise operators are used to perform bit-level operations on operands. These operators allow the evaluation and manipulation of specific bits within the integer.

Operator Name Description Example
& AND Bits that are 1 in both $A and $B are set to 1, otherwise 0. $A & $B
| OR Bits that are 1 in either $A or $B are set to 1 $A | $B
^ Xor (Exclusive or) Bits that are 1 in either $A or $B are set to 0. $A ^ $B
~ Not Bits that are 1 set to 0 and bits that are 0 are set to 1 ~$A
<< Shift left Left shift the bits of operand $A $B steps $A << $B
>> Shift right Right shift the bits of $A operand by $B number of places $A >> $B

PHP String Operators

The string operators are used to perform the operation on strings. There are two string operators in PHP, which are given below.

Operator Name Description Example
. Concatenation Concatenate both $A and $B $A . $B
.= Concatenation assignment First concatenate $A and $B, then assign the concatenated string to $A, e.g. $A = $A . $B $A .= $B

PHP Array Operators

The array operators are used in case of array. Basically, these operators are used to compare the values of arrays.

Operator Name Example Description
+ Union $A + $B Union of $A and $B
== Equality $A == $B Return TRUE if $A and $B have same key/value pair
!= Inequality $A != $B Return TRUE if $A is not equal to $B
=== Identity $A === $B Return TRUE if $A and $B have same key/value pair of same type in same order
!== Non-Identity $A !== $B Return TRUE if $A is not identical to $B
<> Inequality $A <> $B Return TRUE if $A is not equal to $B

PHP Conditional Assignment Operators

These operators are used to compare two values and take either of the result simultaneously, depending on whether the outcome is TRUE or FALSE. These are also used as shorthand notation for if…else statement that we will read in the article on decision making.

Operator Name Example Result
?: Ternary $x = expr1 ? expr2 : expr3 Returns the value of $x.
The value of $x is expr2 if expr1 = TRUE.
The value of $x is expr3 if expr1 = FALSE
?? Null coalescing $x = expr1 ?? expr2 $A | $B