PHP if statement syntax

Examples of using the “if” command in PHP.

The simplest if statement executes command(s) if a condition evaluates as true:

if ($var > 0 ) {
// code here run if $var is positive
echo "Square root is: ".sqrt($var);
}

An optional else block can be added to execute code if the test condition evaluates as false. Multiple lines of code must be enclosed within { braces } while a single statement can be used in an if statement without braces.

if ($var >= 0 )
echo "Square root is: ".sqrt($var);
else {
$negvar = -1*$var;
echo "Square root is: ".sqrt($var)."i";
}

If statements can be nested:

if ($var < 10) echo "var is less than 10"; elseif ($var < 20) echo "var is between 10 and 20"; elseif ($var < 30) echo "var is between 20 and 30"; else echo "var is greater than 30";

A compact (if cryptic) shorthand is useful:

echo "var is ".($var < 0 ? "negative" : "positive");

is equivalent to:

echo "var is ";
if ($var < 0) echo "negative"; else echo "positive";

The shorthand can be considered (expression ? true_value : false_value) where 'expression' is evaluated and, if true, the 'true_value' is returned, otherwise the 'false_value' is returned.

Quinn McHenry
Quinn McHenry
Quinn was one of the original co-founders of Tech-Recipes. He is currently crafting iOS applications as a senior developer at Small Planet Digital in Brooklyn, New York.
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