PHP Echo / Print

echo and print both send text to the browser (or stdout). They differ in a couple of small ways.

echo

<?php
echo 'Hello';
echo 'Hello', ' ', 'world', PHP_EOL;     // multiple args separated by commas
echo "Hello, $name", PHP_EOL;             // interpolation in double quotes

• Accepts multiple comma-separated arguments.
• Not technically a function — no return value, no parens required.
• Slightly faster than print in microbenchmarks (rarely matters).

print

print 'Hello';
print('Hello, ' . $name);
$rc = print 'side effect';        // returns 1 — usable in expressions

• Takes exactly one argument.
• Returns 1 — usable inside expressions.

Short echo tag

In templates, <?= ?> is shorthand for <?php echo ?>:

<p>Hello, <?= htmlspecialchars($name) ?>!</p>

Newlines

Example

<?php
echo 'one', ' ', 'two', PHP_EOL;   // multiple args, no return
print 'three' . PHP_EOL;             // single arg, returns 1

Exercise

Test yourself