Operators are symbols that tell PHP to perform specific operations on values or variables. PHP supports a rich set of operators grouped by their purpose.
Used to perform basic math operations: + (addition), - (subtraction), * (multiplication), / (division), % (modulus), ** (exponentiation).
<?php
$a = 10;
$b = 3;
echo $a + $b; // 13
echo $a - $b; // 7
echo $a * $b; // 30
echo $a / $b; // 3.333...
echo $a % $b; // 1 (remainder)
echo $a ** $b; // 1000 (10 to the power of 3)
?>Used to assign values to variables. Compound assignment operators combine an arithmetic operation with assignment.
<?php
$x = 10; // assign 10
$x += 5; // $x = $x + 5 -> 15
$x -= 3; // $x = $x - 3 -> 12
$x *= 2; // $x = $x * 2 -> 24
$x /= 4; // $x = $x / 4 -> 6
$x %= 4; // $x = $x % 4 -> 2
$str = "Hello";
$str .= " World"; // string concatenation assignment -> "Hello World"
echo $str;
?>Used to compare two values. They return true or false. Note the difference between == (loose equality) and === (strict equality, checks type too).
<?php
$a = 5;
$b = "5";
var_dump($a == $b); // true (loose: values match)
var_dump($a === $b); // false (strict: types differ)
var_dump($a != $b); // false
var_dump($a !== $b); // true
var_dump($a < 10); // true
var_dump($a > 10); // false
var_dump($a <= 5); // true
var_dump($a >= 6); // false
// Spaceship operator (PHP 7+): returns -1, 0, or 1
echo (1 <=> 2); // -1
echo (2 <=> 2); // 0
echo (3 <=> 2); // 1
?>Used to combine conditional statements. && and and both mean AND, but && has higher precedence. Same for || vs or.
<?php
$age = 25;
$hasID = true;
// AND: both must be true
if ($age >= 18 && $hasID) {
echo "Access granted";
}
// OR: at least one must be true
$isAdmin = false;
$isModerator = true;
if ($isAdmin || $isModerator) {
echo "Can manage content";
}
// NOT: inverts the boolean
if (!$isAdmin) {
echo "Not an admin";
}
// XOR: true if exactly one operand is true
var_dump(true xor false); // true
var_dump(true xor true); // false
?>The . operator concatenates strings. ++ and -- increment or decrement a value by 1.
<?php
// String concatenation
$first = "Hello";
$last = "World";
echo $first . " " . $last; // Hello World
// Increment / Decrement
$count = 5;
echo $count++; // 5 (post-increment: returns then increments)
echo $count; // 6
echo ++$count; // 7 (pre-increment: increments then returns)
$n = 10;
echo $n--; // 10
echo --$n; // 8
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