PHP Conditional Statements

Conditional statements let your code make decisions and execute different blocks based on whether a condition is true or false.

if, if-else, if-elseif-else

The most fundamental control structure. Chain multiple conditions with elseif.

if / else / elseif

<?php
$score = 75;

if ($score >= 90) {
    echo "Grade: A";
} elseif ($score >= 80) {
    echo "Grade: B";
} elseif ($score >= 70) {
    echo "Grade: C";
} elseif ($score >= 60) {
    echo "Grade: D";
} else {
    echo "Grade: F";
}
// Output: Grade: C

// Nested if
$age = 20;
$hasLicense = true;
if ($age >= 18) {
    if ($hasLicense) {
        echo "Can drive";
    } else {
        echo "Need a license";
    }
}
?>

switch-case

Use switch when comparing one variable against many possible values. Don't forget break to prevent fall-through.

switch-case

<?php
$day = "Monday";

switch ($day) {
    case "Monday":
    case "Tuesday":
    case "Wednesday":
    case "Thursday":
    case "Friday":
        echo "Weekday";
        break;
    case "Saturday":
    case "Sunday":
        echo "Weekend";
        break;
    default:
        echo "Unknown day";
}
// Output: Weekday
?>

match Expression (PHP 8)

match is a stricter, expression-based alternative to switch. It uses strict comparison (===), returns a value, and throws an error if no arm matches.

match Expression

<?php
$status = 2;

$label = match($status) {
    1       => "Active",
    2       => "Inactive",
    3, 4    => "Pending",
    default => "Unknown",
};

echo $label; // Inactive

// Ternary operator
$age = 20;
$result = ($age >= 18) ? "Adult" : "Minor";
echo $result; // Adult

// Null coalescing operator (??)
$username = $_GET['user'] ?? "Guest";
echo $username; // Guest (if 'user' not in $_GET)

// Null coalescing assignment (??=)
$config = [];
$config['theme'] ??= "dark"; // sets only if null/undefined
echo $config['theme']; // dark
?>

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PHP Conditional Statements

if, if-else, if-elseif-else

switch-case

match Expression (PHP 8)

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