php-doc-en/language/operators.xml
2004-04-08 04:25:42 +00:00

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XML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
<!-- $Revision: 1.65 $ -->
<chapter id="language.operators">
<title>Operators</title>
<simpara>
An operator is something that you feed with one or more values (or
expressions, in programming jargon) which yields another value (so that the
construction itself becomes an expression). So you can think of functions
or constructions that return a value (like print) as operators and those
that return nothing (like echo) as any other thing.
</simpara>
<para>
There are three types of operators. Firstly there is the unary operator which
operates on only one value, for example ! (the negation operator) or ++
(the increment operator). The second group are termed binary operators; this
group contains most of the operators that PHP supports, and a list follows
below in the section <link linkend="language.operators.precedence">Operator
Precedence</link>.
</para>
<para>
The third group is the ternary operator: ?:. It should be used to select
between two expressions depending on a third one, rather than to select two
sentences or paths of execution. Surrounding ternary expressions with
parentheses is a very good idea.
</para>
<sect1 id="language.operators.precedence">
<title>Operator Precedence</title>
<para>
The precedence of an operator specifies how "tightly" it binds two
expressions together. For example, in the expression <literal>1 +
5 * 3</literal>, the answer is <literal>16</literal> and not
<literal>18</literal> because the multiplication ("*") operator
has a higher precedence than the addition ("+") operator.
Parentheses may be used to force precedence, if necessary. For
instance: <literal>(1 + 5) * 3</literal> evaluates to
<literal>18</literal>.
</para>
<para>
The following table lists the precedence of operators with the
highest-precedence operators listed first.
<table>
<title>Operator Precedence</title>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Associativity</entry>
<entry>Operators</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>non-associative</entry>
<entry>new</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>right</entry>
<entry>[</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>right</entry>
<entry>! ~ ++ -- (int) (float) (string) (array) (object) @</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>left</entry>
<entry>* / %</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>left</entry>
<entry>+ - .</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>left</entry>
<entry>&lt;&lt; &gt;&gt;</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>non-associative</entry>
<entry>&lt; &lt;= &gt; &gt;=</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>non-associative</entry>
<entry>== != === !==</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>left</entry>
<entry>&amp;</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>left</entry>
<entry>^</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>left</entry>
<entry>|</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>left</entry>
<entry>&amp;&amp;</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>left</entry>
<entry>||</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>left</entry>
<entry>? :</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>right</entry>
<entry>
= += -= *= /= .= %= &amp;= |= ^= &lt;&lt;= &gt;&gt;=
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>right</entry>
<entry>print</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>left</entry>
<entry>and</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>left</entry>
<entry>xor</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>left</entry>
<entry>or</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>left</entry>
<entry>,</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
</para>
<note>
<para>
Although <literal>!</literal> has a higher precedence than
<literal>=</literal>, PHP will still allow expressions
similar to the following: <literal>if (!$a = foo())</literal>,
in which case the output from <literal>foo()</literal> is
put into <varname>$a</varname>.
</para>
</note>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="language.operators.arithmetic">
<title>Arithmetic Operators</title>
<simpara>
Remember basic arithmetic from school? These work just
like those.
</simpara>
<table>
<title>Arithmetic Operators</title>
<tgroup cols="3">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Example</entry>
<entry>Name</entry>
<entry>Result</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>$a + $b</entry>
<entry>Addition</entry>
<entry>Sum of $a and $b.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a - $b</entry>
<entry>Subtraction</entry>
<entry>Difference of $a and $b.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a * $b</entry>
<entry>Multiplication</entry>
<entry>Product of $a and $b.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a / $b</entry>
<entry>Division</entry>
<entry>Quotient of $a and $b.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a % $b</entry>
<entry>Modulus</entry>
<entry>Remainder of $a divided by $b.</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
<simpara>
The division operator ("/") returns a float value anytime,
even if the two operands are integers (or strings that get
converted to integers).
</simpara>
<simpara>
See also the manual page on
<link linkend="ref.math">Math functions</link>.
</simpara>
<!--
<simpara>
The division operator ("/") returns an integer value (the result
of an integer division) if the two operands are integers (or
strings that get converted to integers) and the quotient is an
integer. If either operand is a floating-point value, or the
operation results in a non-integer value, a floating-point value
is returned.
</simpara>
-->
</sect1>
<sect1 id="language.operators.assignment">
<title>Assignment Operators</title>
<simpara>
The basic assignment operator is "=". Your first inclination might
be to think of this as "equal to". Don't. It really means that the
the left operand gets set to the value of the expression on the
rights (that is, "gets set to").
</simpara>
<para>
The value of an assignment expression is the value assigned. That
is, the value of "$a = 3" is 3. This allows you to do some tricky
things:
<informalexample>
<programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$a = ($b = 4) + 5; // $a is equal to 9 now, and $b has been set to 4.
?>
]]>
</programlisting>
</informalexample>
</para>
<para>
In addition to the basic assignment operator, there are "combined
operators" for all of the <link linkend="language.operators">binary
arithmetic</link> and string operators that allow you to use a value in an
expression and then set its value to the result of that expression. For
example:
<informalexample>
<programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$a = 3;
$a += 5; // sets $a to 8, as if we had said: $a = $a + 5;
$b = "Hello ";
$b .= "There!"; // sets $b to "Hello There!", just like $b = $b . "There!";
?>
]]>
</programlisting>
</informalexample>
</para>
<para>
Note that the assignment copies the original variable to the new
one (assignment by value), so changes to one will not affect the
other. This may also have relevance if you need to copy something
like a large array inside a tight loop. PHP 4 supports assignment
by reference, using the <computeroutput>$var =
&amp;$othervar;</computeroutput> syntax, but this is not possible
in PHP 3. 'Assignment by reference' means that both variables end
up pointing at the same data, and nothing is copied anywhere.
To learn more about references, please read <link
linkend="language.references">References explained</link>.
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="language.operators.bitwise">
<title>Bitwise Operators</title>
<simpara>
Bitwise operators allow you to turn specific bits within an
integer on or off. If both the left- and right-hand parameters are
strings, the bitwise operator will operate on the characters' ASCII
values.
</simpara>
<para>
<informalexample>
<programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
echo 12 ^ 9; // Outputs '5'
echo "12" ^ "9"; // Outputs the Backspace character (ascii 8)
// ('1' (ascii 49)) ^ ('9' (ascii 57)) = #8
echo "hallo" ^ "hello"; // Outputs the ascii values #0 #4 #0 #0 #0
// 'a' ^ 'e' = #4
?>
]]>
</programlisting>
</informalexample>
</para>
<table>
<title>Bitwise Operators</title>
<tgroup cols="3">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Example</entry>
<entry>Name</entry>
<entry>Result</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>$a &amp; $b</entry>
<entry>And</entry>
<entry>Bits that are set in both $a and $b are set.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a | $b</entry>
<entry>Or</entry>
<entry>Bits that are set in either $a or $b are set.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a ^ $b</entry>
<entry>Xor</entry>
<entry>
Bits that are set in $a or $b but not both are set.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>~ $a</entry>
<entry>Not</entry>
<entry>
Bits that are set in $a are not set, and vice versa.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a &lt;&lt; $b</entry>
<entry>Shift left</entry>
<entry>
Shift the bits of $a $b steps to the left (each step means
"multiply by two")
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a &gt;&gt; $b</entry>
<entry>Shift right</entry>
<entry>
Shift the bits of $a $b steps to the right (each step means
"divide by two")
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="language.operators.comparison">
<title>Comparison Operators</title>
<simpara>
Comparison operators, as their name implies, allow you to compare
two values. You may also be interested in viewing
<link linkend="types.comparisons">the type comparison tables</link>,
as they show examples of various type related comparisons.
</simpara>
<table>
<title>Comparison Operators</title>
<tgroup cols="3">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Example</entry>
<entry>Name</entry>
<entry>Result</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>$a == $b</entry>
<entry>Equal</entry>
<entry>&true; if $a is equal to $b.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a === $b</entry>
<entry>Identical</entry>
<entry>
&true; if $a is equal to $b, and they are of the same
type. (PHP 4 only)
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a != $b</entry>
<entry>Not equal</entry>
<entry>&true; if $a is not equal to $b.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a &lt;&gt; $b</entry>
<entry>Not equal</entry>
<entry>&true; if $a is not equal to $b.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a !== $b</entry>
<entry>Not identical</entry>
<entry>
&true; if $a is not equal to $b, or they are not of the same
type. (PHP 4 only)
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a &lt; $b</entry>
<entry>Less than</entry>
<entry>&true; if $a is strictly less than $b.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a &gt; $b</entry>
<entry>Greater than</entry>
<entry>&true; if $a is strictly greater than $b.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a &lt;= $b</entry>
<entry>Less than or equal to </entry>
<entry>&true; if $a is less than or equal to $b.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a &gt;= $b</entry>
<entry>Greater than or equal to </entry>
<entry>&true; if $a is greater than or equal to $b.</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
<para>
Another conditional operator is the "?:" (or ternary) operator.
<informalexample>
<programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
// Example usage for: Ternary Operator
$action = (empty($_POST['action'])) ? 'default' : $_POST['action'];
// The above is identical to this if/else statement
if (empty($_POST['action'])) {
$action = 'default';
} else {
$action = $_POST['action'];
}
?>
]]>
</programlisting>
</informalexample>
The expression <literal>(expr1) ? (expr2) : (expr3)</literal>
evaluates to <replaceable>expr2</replaceable> if
<replaceable>expr1</replaceable> evaluates to &true;, and
<replaceable>expr3</replaceable> if
<replaceable>expr1</replaceable> evaluates to &false;.
</para>
<para>
See also <function>strcasecmp</function>,
<function>strcmp</function>,
<link linkend="language.operators.array">Array operators</link>,
and the manual section on
<link linkend="language.types">Types</link>.
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="language.operators.errorcontrol">
<title>Error Control Operators</title>
<simpara>
PHP supports one error control operator: the at sign (@). When
prepended to an expression in PHP, any error messages that might
be generated by that expression will be ignored.
</simpara>
<simpara>
If the <link linkend="ini.track-errors">track_errors</link>
feature is enabled, any error message generated by the expression
will be saved in the variable
<link linkend="reserved.variables.phperrormsg">$php_errormsg</link>.
This variable will be overwritten on each error, so check early if you
want to use it.
</simpara>
<para>
<informalexample>
<programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
/* Intentional file error */
$my_file = @file ('non_existent_file') or
die ("Failed opening file: error was '$php_errormsg'");
// this works for any expression, not just functions:
$value = @$cache[$key];
// will not issue a notice if the index $key doesn't exist.
?>
]]>
</programlisting>
</informalexample>
</para>
<note>
<simpara>
The @-operator works only on
<link linkend="language.expressions">expressions</link>. A simple rule
of thumb is: if you can take the value of something, you can prepend
the @ operator to it. For instance, you can prepend it to variables,
function and <function>include</function> calls, constants, and
so forth. You cannot prepend it to function or class definitions,
or conditional structures such as <literal>if</literal> and
<literal>foreach</literal>, and so forth.
</simpara>
</note>
<simpara>
See also <function>error_reporting</function> and the manual section for
<link linkend="ref.errorfunc">Error Handling and Logging functions</link>.
</simpara>
<note>
<para>
The "@" error-control operator prefix will not disable messages
that are the result of parse errors.
</para>
</note>
<warning>
<para>
Currently the "@" error-control operator prefix will even disable
error reporting for critical errors that will terminate script
execution. Among other things, this means that if you use "@" to
suppress errors from a certain function and either it isn't
available or has been mistyped, the script will die right there
with no indication as to why.
</para>
</warning>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="language.operators.execution">
<title>Execution Operators</title>
<para>
PHP supports one execution operator: backticks (``). Note that
these are not single-quotes! PHP will attempt to execute the
contents of the backticks as a shell command; the output will be
returned (i.e., it won't simply be dumped to output; it can be
assigned to a variable). Use of the backtick operator is identical
to <function>shell_exec</function>.
<informalexample>
<programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$output = `ls -al`;
echo "<pre>$output</pre>";
?>
]]>
</programlisting>
</informalexample>
</para>
<note>
<para>
The backtick operator is disabled when &safemode; is enabled
or <function>shell_exec</function> is disabled.
</para>
</note>
<para>
See also the manual section on <link linkend="ref.exec">Program
Execution functions</link>, <function>popen</function>
<function>proc_open</function>, and
<link linkend="features.commandline">Using PHP from the
commandline</link>.
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="language.operators.increment">
<title>Incrementing/Decrementing Operators</title>
<para>
PHP supports C-style pre- and post-increment and decrement
operators.
</para>
<table>
<title>Increment/decrement Operators</title>
<tgroup cols="3">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Example</entry>
<entry>Name</entry>
<entry>Effect</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>++$a</entry>
<entry>Pre-increment</entry>
<entry>Increments $a by one, then returns $a.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a++</entry>
<entry>Post-increment</entry>
<entry>Returns $a, then increments $a by one.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>--$a</entry>
<entry>Pre-decrement</entry>
<entry>Decrements $a by one, then returns $a.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a--</entry>
<entry>Post-decrement</entry>
<entry>Returns $a, then decrements $a by one.</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
<para>
Here's a simple example script:
<informalexample>
<programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
echo "<h3>Postincrement</h3>";
$a = 5;
echo "Should be 5: " . $a++ . "<br />\n";
echo "Should be 6: " . $a . "<br />\n";
echo "<h3>Preincrement</h3>";
$a = 5;
echo "Should be 6: " . ++$a . "<br />\n";
echo "Should be 6: " . $a . "<br />\n";
echo "<h3>Postdecrement</h3>";
$a = 5;
echo "Should be 5: " . $a-- . "<br />\n";
echo "Should be 4: " . $a . "<br />\n";
echo "<h3>Predecrement</h3>";
$a = 5;
echo "Should be 4: " . --$a . "<br />\n";
echo "Should be 4: " . $a . "<br />\n";
?>
]]>
</programlisting>
</informalexample>
</para>
<para>
PHP follows Perl's convention when dealing with arithmetic operations
on character variables and not C's. For example, in Perl 'Z'+1 turns
into 'AA', while in C 'Z'+1 turns into '[' ( ord('Z') == 90, ord('[') == 91 ).
Note that character variables can be incremented but not decremented.
<example>
<title>Arithmetic Operations on Character Variables</title>
<programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$i = 'W';
for($n=0; $n<6; $n++)
echo ++$i . "\n";
/*
Produces the output similar to the following:
X
Y
Z
AA
AB
AC
*/
?>
]]>
</programlisting>
</example>
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="language.operators.logical">
<title>Logical Operators</title>
<table>
<title>Logical Operators</title>
<tgroup cols="3">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Example</entry>
<entry>Name</entry>
<entry>Result</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>$a and $b</entry>
<entry>And</entry>
<entry>&true; if both $a and $b are &true;.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a or $b</entry>
<entry>Or</entry>
<entry>&true; if either $a or $b is &true;.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a xor $b</entry>
<entry>Xor</entry>
<entry>&true; if either $a or $b is &true;, but not both.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>! $a</entry>
<entry>Not</entry>
<entry>&true; if $a is not &true;.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a &amp;&amp; $b</entry>
<entry>And</entry>
<entry>&true; if both $a and $b are &true;.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a || $b</entry>
<entry>Or</entry>
<entry>&true; if either $a or $b is &true;.</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
<simpara>
The reason for the two different variations of "and" and "or"
operators is that they operate at different precedences. (See
<link linkend="language.operators.precedence">Operator
Precedence</link>.)
</simpara>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="language.operators.string">
<title>String Operators</title>
<simpara>
There are two <type>string</type> operators. The first is the
concatenation operator ('.'), which returns the concatenation of its
right and left arguments. The second is the concatenating assignment
operator ('.='), which appends the argument on the right side to
the argument on the left side. Please read <link
linkend="language.operators.assignment">Assignment
Operators</link> for more information.
</simpara>
<para>
<informalexample>
<programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$a = "Hello ";
$b = $a . "World!"; // now $b contains "Hello World!"
$a = "Hello ";
$a .= "World!"; // now $a contains "Hello World!"
?>
]]>
</programlisting>
</informalexample>
</para>
<para>
See also the manual sections on the
<link linkend="language.types.string">String type</link> and
<link linkend="ref.strings">String functions</link>.
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="language.operators.array">
<title>Array Operators</title>
<table>
<title>Array Operators</title>
<tgroup cols="3">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Example</entry>
<entry>Name</entry>
<entry>Result</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>$a + $b</entry>
<entry>Union</entry>
<entry>Union of $a and $b.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a == $b</entry>
<entry>Equality</entry>
<entry>&true; if $a and $b have the same elements.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a === $b</entry>
<entry>Identity</entry>
<entry>&true; if $a and $b have the same elements in the same order.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a != $b</entry>
<entry>Inequality</entry>
<entry>&true; if $a is not equal to $b.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a &lt;&gt; $b</entry>
<entry>Inequality</entry>
<entry>&true; if $a is not equal to $b.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>$a !== $b</entry>
<entry>Non-identity</entry>
<entry>&true; if $a is not identical to $b.</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
<para>
The <literal>+</literal> operator
appends the right handed array to the left handed, whereas
duplicated keys are NOT overwritten.
</para>
<para>
<informalexample>
<programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$a = array("a" => "apple", "b" => "banana");
$b = array("a" => "pear", "b" => "strawberry", "c" => "cherry");
$c = $a + $b; // Union of $a and $b
echo "Union of \$a and \$b: \n";
var_dump($c);
$c = $b + $a; // Union of $b and $a
echo "Union of \$b and \$a: \n";
var_dump($c);
?>
]]>
</programlisting>
</informalexample>
When executed, this script will print the following:
<screen role="php">
<![CDATA[
Union of $a and $b:
array(3) {
["a"]=>
string(5) "apple"
["b"]=>
string(6) "banana"
["c"]=>
string(6) "cherry"
}
Union of $b and $a:
array(3) {
["a"]=>
string(4) "pear"
["b"]=>
string(10) "strawberry"
["c"]=>
string(6) "cherry"
}
]]>
</screen>
</para>
<para>
Elements of arrays are equal for the comparison if they have the
same key and value.
</para>
<para>
<example>
<title>Comparing arrays</title>
<programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$a = array("apple", "banana");
$b = array(1 => "banana", "0" => "apple");
var_dump($a == $b); // bool(true)
var_dump($a === $b); // bool(false)
?>
]]>
</programlisting>
</example>
</para>
<para>
See also the manual sections on the
<link linkend="language.types.array">Array type</link> and
<link linkend="ref.array">Array functions</link>.
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="language.operators.type">
<title>Type Operators</title>
<para>
PHP has a single type operator: <literal>instanceof</literal>.
<literal>instanceof</literal> is used to determine whether a given
object is of a specified <link linkend="language.oop">object class</link>.
</para>
<simpara>
<literal>instanceof</literal> was introduced in PHP 5.
</simpara>
<informalexample>
<programlisting>
<![CDATA[
<?php
class A { }
class B { }
$thing = new A;
if ($thing instanceof A) {
echo 'A';
}
if ($thing instanceof B) {
echo 'B';
}
?>
]]>
</programlisting>
<simpara>
As <literal>$thing</literal> is an object of type A, but not B, only the block
dependent on the A type will be executed:
</simpara>
<screen>A</screen>
</informalexample>
</sect1>
</chapter>
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