Mastering PHP Basics: Syntax and Data Types

Understanding the core syntax and data types is essential for building PHP applications. Let’s dive in!

PHP Basic Syntax

• PHP tags: Every PHP script starts with <?php and ends with ?>.
• Comments: Use // for single-line comments and /* */ for multi-line comments.
• Case sensitivity: PHP is case-sensitive for variables and functions.
• Whitespace: PHP ignores extra whitespace (spaces, tabs, newlines) for readability.

PHP Data Types

PHP supports several data types to store different kinds of information:

• Integer: Represents whole numbers (e.g., 42, -10).

$age = 30;

• Float (or double): Represents numbers with decimal points (e.g., 3.14, -2.5).

$pi = 3.14159;

• String: Represents text enclosed in single or double quotes (e.g., “Hello”, ‘world’).

$greeting = "Hello, world!";

• Boolean: Represents logical values, either true or false.

$is_active = true;

• Array: Stores multiple values in a single variable (we’ll cover arrays in detail later).
• Object: Represents instances of classes (we’ll explore objects in object-oriented PHP).
• NULL: Represents a variable with no value.

$empty_value = null;

Type Casting

You can convert one data type to another using type casting:

$number = 10;
$string = (string)$number; // Converts $number to a string "10"

By grasping these fundamental concepts, you’ll be able to effectively manipulate data within your PHP scripts. In the next article, we’ll explore variables, constants, and operators in more detail.