In PHP, echo
and print
are used to output data to the browser. Both are language constructs, meaning they do not require parentheses.
1. Using echo
echo
is faster and can take multiple arguments, though it is rarely used with multiple arguments.
<?php echo "Hello, World!"; echo "PHP is fun!", " and powerful!"; ?>
2. Using print
print
is similar to echo
but only takes one argument and returns 1
, making it slightly slower.
<?php print "Hello, World!"; $result = print "PHP is awesome!"; echo " Print returned: " . $result; ?>
3. Differences Between echo and print
Feature | echo | |
---|---|---|
Arguments | Can take multiple | Only takes one |
Return Value | None | Returns 1 |
Speed | Faster | Slightly slower |
4. Outputting HTML with echo and print
You can use either to display HTML content.
<?php echo "<h1>Welcome to PHP</h1>"; print "<p>This is a paragraph.</p>"; ?>
Conclusion
Both echo
and print
are used for output in PHP. echo
is preferred for performance, while print
can be useful when a return value is needed.