In this example you will learn how to manipulate or perform the operations on variables and values using operators in PHP.

What are Operators in PHP

Operators are symbols that tell the PHP processor to perform certain actions. For example, the addition (+) symbol is an operator that tells PHP to add two variables or values.

PHP Arithmetic Operators

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

Example

PHP Arithmetic Operators
<?php
$x = 10;
$y = 4;
echo($x + $y); // OUTPUT: 14
echo($x - $y); // OUTPUT: 6
echo($x * $y); // OUTPUT: 40
echo($x / $y); // OUTPUT: 2.5
echo($x % $y); // OUTPUT: 2
?>

PHP Assignment Operators

The assignment operators are used to assign values to variables.

Example

PHP Assignment Operators
<?php
$x = 10;
echo $x; // OUTPUT: 10
 
$x = 20;
$x += 30;
echo $x; // OUTPUT: 50
 
$x = 50;
$x -= 20;
echo $x; // OUTPUT: 30
 
$x = 5;
$x *= 25;
echo $x; // OUTPUT: 125
 
$x = 50;
$x /= 10;
echo $x; // OUTPUT: 5
 
$x = 100;
$x %= 15;
echo $x; // OUTPUT: 10
?>

PHP Comparison Operators

The comparison operators are used to compare two values in a Boolean fashion.

Example

PHP Comparison Operators
<?php
$x = 25;
$y = 35;
$z = "25";
var_dump($x == $z);  // OUTPUT: boolean true
var_dump($x === $z); // OUTPUT: boolean false
var_dump($x != $y);  // OUTPUT: boolean true
var_dump($x !== $z); // OUTPUT: boolean true
var_dump($x < $y);   // OUTPUT: boolean true
var_dump($x > $y);   // OUTPUT: boolean false
var_dump($x <= $y);  // OUTPUT: boolean true
var_dump($x >= $y);  // OUTPUT: boolean false
?>

PHP Incrementing and Decrementing Operators

Example

Incrementing and Decrementing Operators
<?php
$x = 10;
echo ++$x; // OUTPUT: 11
echo $x;   // OUTPUT: 11
 
$x = 10;
echo $x++; // OUTPUT: 10
echo $x;   // OUTPUT: 11
 
$x = 10;
echo --$x; // OUTPUT: 9
echo $x;   // OUTPUT: 9
 
$x = 10;
echo $x--; // OUTPUT: 10
echo $x;   // OUTPUT: 9
?>

PHP Logical Operators

The logical operators are typically used to combine conditional statements.

Example

PHP Logical Operators
<?php
$year = 2014;
// Leap years are divisible by 400 or by 4 but not 100
if(($year % 400 == 0) || (($year % 100 != 0) && ($year % 4 == 0))){
    echo "$year is a leap year.";
} else{
    echo "$year is not a leap year.";
}
?>

PHP String Operators

There are two operators which are specifically designed strings.

Example

PHP String Operators
<?php
$x = "Hello";
$y = " World!";
echo $x . $y; // OUTPUT: Hello World!
 
$x .= $y;
echo $x; // OUTPUT: Hello World!
?>

PHP Array Operators

The array operators are used to compare arrays:

Example

PHP Array Operators
<?php
$x = array("a" => "Red", "b" => "Green", "c" => "Blue");
$y = array("u" => "Yellow", "v" => "Orange", "w" => "Pink");
$z = $x + $y; // Union of $x and $y
var_dump($z);
var_dump($x == $y);   // OUTPUT: boolean false
var_dump($x === $y);  // OUTPUT: boolean false
var_dump($x != $y);   // OUTPUT: boolean true
var_dump($x <> $y);   // OUTPUT: boolean true
var_dump($x !== $y);  // OUTPUT: boolean true
?>

I hope you understand the various operators in PHP.