PHP Operators: Types and Usage Explained

PHP Arithmetic Operators

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

Operator	Name	Example	Result
+	Addition	$x + $y	Sum of $x and $y
-	Subtraction	$x - $y	Difference of $x and $y
*	Multiplication	$x * $y	Product of $x and $y
/	Division	$x / $y	Quotient of $x and $y
%	Modulus	$x % $y	Remainder of $x divided by $y
**	Exponentiation	$x ** $y	Result of raising $x to the $y'th power

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.

Assignment	Same as...	Description
x = y	x = y	The left operand gets set to the value of the expression on the right
x += y	x = x + y	Addition
x -= y	x = x - y	Subtraction
x *= y	x = x * y	Multiplication
x /= y	x = x / y	Division
x %= y	x = x % y	Modulus

PHP Comparison Operators

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

 

Operator	Name	Example	Result
==	Equal	$x == $y	Returns true if $x is equal to $y
===	Identical	$x === $y	Returns true if $x is equal to $y, and they are of the same type
!=	Not equal	$x != $y	Returns true if $x is not equal to $y
<>	Not equal	$x <> $y	Returns true if $x is not equal to $y
!==	Not identical	$x !== $y	Returns true if $x is not equal to $y, or they are not of the same type
>	Greater than	$x > $y	Returns true if $x is greater than $y
<	Less than	$x < $y	Returns true if $x is less than $y
>=	Greater than or equal to	$x >= $y	Returns true if $x is greater than or equal to $y
<=	Less than or equal to	$x <= $y	Returns true if $x is less than or equal to $y
<=>	Spaceship	$x <=> $y	Returns an integer less than, equal to, or greater than zero, depending on if $x is less than, equal to, or greater than $y. Introduced in PHP 7.

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.

Operator	Name	Description
++$x	Pre-increment	Increments $x by one, then returns $x
$x++	Post-increment	Returns $x, then increments $x by one
--$x	Pre-decrement	Decrements $x by one, then returns $x
$x--	Post-decrement	Returns $x, then decrements $x by one

PHP Logical Operators

The PHP logical operators are used to combine conditional statements.

Operator	Name	Example	Result
and	And	$x and $y	True if both $x and $y are true
or	Or	$x or $y	True if either $x or $y is true
xor	Xor	$x xor $y	True if either $x or $y is true, but not both
&&	And	$x && $y	True if both $x and $y are true
||	Or	$x || $y	True if either $x or $y is true
!	Not	!$x	True if $x is not true

PHP String Operators

PHP has two operators that are specially designed for strings.

Operator	Name	Example	Result
.	Concatenation	$txt1 . $txt2	Concatenation of $txt1 and $txt2
.=	Concatenation assignment	$txt1 .= $txt2	Appends $txt2 to $txt1

PHP Array Operators

The PHP array operators are used to compare arrays.

Operator	Name	Example	Result
+	Union	$x + $y	Union of $x and $y
==	Equality	$x == $y	Returns true if $x and $y have the same key/value pairs
===	Identity	$x === $y	Returns true if $x and $y have the same key/value pairs in the same order and of the same types
!=	Inequality	$x != $y	Returns true if $x is not equal to $y
<>	Inequality	$x <> $y	Returns true if $x is not equal to $y
!==	Non-identity	$x !== $y	Returns true if $x is not identical to $y

PHP Conditional Assignment Operators

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

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	Returns the value of $x. The value of $x is expr1 if expr1 exists, and is not NULL. If expr1 does not exist or is NULL, the value of $x is expr2. Introduced in PHP 7