PHP Echo / Print

Last modified on: October 20, 2024

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<p>In PHP, <code>echo</code> and <code>print</code> are both used to output data to the browser. They are largely similar but have a few key differences.</p>
<h3><strong>1. <code>echo</code></strong></h3>
<p><code>echo</code> is a language construct used to output one or more strings. It does not return any value.</p>
<h4><strong>Syntax:</strong></h4>
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<pre class="language-php"><code>&lt;?php
echo "Hello, World!";
?&gt;</code></pre>
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<h4><strong>Key Points about <code>echo</code>:</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>No Return Value</strong>: It simply outputs the string and does not return anything.</li>
<li><strong>Faster</strong>: Slightly faster than <code>print</code> because it doesn't return a value.</li>
<li><strong>Multiple Parameters</strong>: <code>echo</code> can take multiple parameters separated by commas (though it's rarely used this way).
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<pre class="language-php"><code>&lt;?php
echo "Hello", " ", "World!"; // Outputs: Hello World!
?&gt;</code></pre>
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</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>2. <code>print</code></strong></h3>
<p><code>print</code> is also a language construct used to output data. It returns <code>1</code> always, which makes it slightly different from <code>echo</code>.</p>
<h4><strong>Syntax:</strong></h4>
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<pre class="language-php"><code>&lt;?php
print "Hello, World!";
?&gt;</code></pre>
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<h4><strong>Key Points about <code>print</code>:</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>Returns a Value</strong>: <code>print</code> returns <code>1</code>, so it can be used in expressions.</li>
<li><strong>Single Argument Only</strong>: <code>print</code> can only take one argument, unlike <code>echo</code> which can take multiple.</li>
<li><strong>Slightly Slower</strong>: Since <code>print</code> returns a value, it is slightly slower than <code>echo</code>.</li>
</ul>
<h4><strong>Examples:</strong></h4>
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<pre class="language-php"><code>&lt;?php
if (print("Hello")) {
    // This code will run because print returns 1
}
?&gt;</code></pre>
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<h3><strong>Differences between <code>echo</code> and <code>print</code>:</strong></h3>
<table>
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<tr>
<th>Feature</th>
<th><code>echo</code></th>
<th><code>print</code></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Return Value</td>
<td>No</td>
<td>Returns <code>1</code></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Number of Arguments</td>
<td>Multiple (comma-separated)</td>
<td>One</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Speed</td>
<td>Slightly faster</td>
<td>Slightly slower</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h3>Example Comparison:</h3>
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<pre class="language-php"><code>&lt;?php
// Using echo
echo "PHP", " is", " fun!"; // Outputs: PHP is fun!

// Using print
print "Learning PHP!"; // Outputs: Learning PHP! and returns 1
?&gt;</code></pre>
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<p>Both <code>echo</code> and <code>print</code> are commonly used in PHP scripts to send output to the browser, with <code>echo</code> being slightly more flexible due to its ability to handle multiple arguments.</p>
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