PHP 5 for Loops

PHP for loops execute a block of code a specified number of times.

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The PHP for Loop

The for loop is used when you know in advance how many times the script should run.

Syntax

for (init counter; test counter; increment counter) {
  code to be executed;
}

Parameters:

• init counter: Initialize the loop counter value
• test counter: Evaluated for each loop iteration. If it evaluates to TRUE, the loop continues. If it evaluates to FALSE, the loop ends.
• increment counter: Increases the loop counter value

The example below displays the numbers from 0 to 10:

Example

<?php
for ($x=0; $x<=10; $x++) {
  echo "The number is: $x <br>";
}
?>

Run example »

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The PHP foreach Loop

The foreach loop works only on arrays, and is used to loop through each key/value pair in an array.

Syntax

foreach ($array as $value) {
  code to be executed;
}

For every loop iteration, the value of the current array element is assigned to $value and the array pointer is moved by one, until it reaches the last array element.
The following example demonstrates a loop that will output the values of the given array ($colors):

Example

<?php
$colors = array("red","green","blue","yellow");

foreach ($colors as $value) {
  echo "$value <br>";
}
?>

Run example »

You will learn more about arrays in a later chapter.