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<!-- $Revision: 1.86 $ -->
 <chapter id="language.operators">
  <title>Operators</title>
  <simpara>
   An operator is something that you feed with one or more values (or
   expressions, in programming jargon) which yields another value (so that the
   construction itself becomes an expression). So you can think of functions
   or constructions that return a value (like print) as operators and those
   that return nothing (like echo) as any other thing.
  </simpara>
  <para>
   There are three types of operators.  Firstly there is the unary operator which
   operates on only one value, for example ! (the negation operator) or ++
   (the increment operator). The second group are termed binary operators; this
   group contains most of the operators that PHP supports, and a list follows
   below in the section <link linkend="language.operators.precedence">Operator
   Precedence</link>.
  </para>
  <para>
   The third group is the ternary operator: ?:.  It should be used to select
   between two expressions depending on a third one, rather than to select two
   sentences or paths of execution. Surrounding ternary expressions with
   parentheses is a very good idea.
  </para>
  
  <sect1 id="language.operators.precedence">
   <title>Operator Precedence</title>
   <para>
    The precedence of an operator specifies how "tightly" it binds two
    expressions together. For example, in the expression <literal>1 +
    5 * 3</literal>, the answer is <literal>16</literal> and not
    <literal>18</literal> because the multiplication ("*") operator
    has a higher precedence than the addition ("+") operator.
    Parentheses may be used to force precedence, if necessary. For
    instance: <literal>(1 + 5) * 3</literal> evaluates to
    <literal>18</literal>. If operator precedence is equal, left to right 
    associativity is used.
   </para>
   <para>
    The following table lists the precedence of operators with the
    highest-precedence operators listed at the top of the table. Operators
    on the same line have equal precedence, in which case their
    associativity decides which order to evaluate them in.
    <table>
     <title>Operator Precedence</title>
     <tgroup cols="2">
      <thead>
       <row>
        <entry>Associativity</entry>
        <entry>Operators</entry>
        <entry>Additional Information</entry>
       </row>
      </thead>
      <tbody>
       <row>
        <entry>non-associative</entry>
        <entry>new</entry>
        <entry><link linkend="language.oop5.basic.new">new</link></entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>right</entry>
        <entry>[</entry>
        <entry><function>array</function></entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>non-associative</entry>
        <entry>++ --</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.increment">increment/decrement</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>non-associative</entry>
        <entry>! ~ - (int) (float) (string) (array) (object) @</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.types">types</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>left</entry>
        <entry>* / %</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.arithmetic">arithmetic</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>left</entry>
        <entry>+ - .</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.arithmetic">arithmetic</link>&listendand; 
         <link linkend="language.operators.string">string</link></entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>left</entry>
        <entry>&lt;&lt; &gt;&gt;</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.bitwise">bitwise</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>non-associative</entry>
        <entry>&lt; &lt;= &gt; &gt;=</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.comparison">comparison</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>non-associative</entry>
        <entry>== != === !==</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.comparison">comparison</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>left</entry>
        <entry>&amp;</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.bitwise">bitwise</link>&listendand; 
         <link linkend="language.references">references</link></entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>left</entry>
        <entry>^</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.bitwise">bitwise</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>left</entry>
        <entry>|</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.bitwise">bitwise</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>left</entry>
        <entry>&amp;&amp;</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.logical">logical</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>left</entry>
        <entry>||</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.logical">logical</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>left</entry>
        <entry>? :</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.comparison.ternary">ternary</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>right</entry>
        <entry>
         = += -= *= /= .= %= &amp;= |= ^= &lt;&lt;= &gt;&gt;=
        </entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.assignment">assignment</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>left</entry>
        <entry>and</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.logical">logical</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>left</entry>
        <entry>xor</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.logical">logical</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>left</entry>
        <entry>or</entry>
        <entry>
         <link linkend="language.operators.logical">logical</link>
        </entry>
       </row>
       <row>
        <entry>left</entry>
        <entry>,</entry>
        <entry>many uses</entry>
       </row>
      </tbody>
     </tgroup>
    </table>
   </para>
   <para>
    Left associativity means that the expression is evaluated from left to right,
    right associativity means the opposite.
    <example>
     <title>Associativity</title>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$a = 3 * 3 % 5; // (3 * 3) % 5 = 4
$a = true ? 0 : true ? 1 : 2; // (true ? 0 : true) ? 1 : 2 = 2

$a = 1;
$b = 2;
$a = $b += 3; // $a = ($b += 3) -> $a = 5, $b = 5
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </example>
    Use parentheses to increase readability of the code.
   </para>
   <note>
    <para>
     Although <literal>!</literal> has a higher precedence than
     <literal>=</literal>, PHP will still allow expressions
     similar to the following: <literal>if (!$a = foo())</literal>,
     in which case the output from <literal>foo()</literal> is
     put into <varname>$a</varname>.
    </para>
   </note>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="language.operators.arithmetic">
   <title>Arithmetic Operators</title>
   <simpara>
    Remember basic arithmetic from school? These work just
    like those.
   </simpara>
   <table>
    <title>Arithmetic Operators</title>
    <tgroup cols="3">
     <thead>
      <row>
       <entry>Example</entry>
       <entry>Name</entry>
       <entry>Result</entry>
      </row>
     </thead>
     <tbody>
      <row>
       <entry>-$a</entry>
       <entry>Negation</entry>
       <entry>Opposite of $a.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a + $b</entry>
       <entry>Addition</entry>
       <entry>Sum of $a and $b.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a - $b</entry>
       <entry>Subtraction</entry>
       <entry>Difference of $a and $b.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a * $b</entry>
       <entry>Multiplication</entry>
       <entry>Product of $a and $b.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a / $b</entry>
       <entry>Division</entry>
       <entry>Quotient of $a and $b.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a % $b</entry>
       <entry>Modulus</entry>
       <entry>Remainder of $a divided by $b.</entry>
      </row>
     </tbody>
    </tgroup>
   </table>
   <simpara>
    The division operator ("/") returns a float value anytime,
    even if the two operands are integers (or strings that get
    converted to integers).
   </simpara>
   <note>
    <simpara>
     Remainder <literal>$a % $b</literal> is negative for negative
     <literal>$a</literal>.
    </simpara>
   </note>
   <simpara>
    See also the manual page on 
    <link linkend="ref.math">Math functions</link>. 
   </simpara>

   <!--
   <simpara>
    The division operator ("/") returns an integer value (the result
    of an integer division) if the two operands are integers (or
    strings that get converted to integers) and the quotient is an
    integer. If either operand is a floating-point value, or the
    operation results in a non-integer value, a floating-point value
    is returned.
   </simpara>
   -->
  </sect1>
  
  <sect1 id="language.operators.assignment">
   <title>Assignment Operators</title>
   <simpara>
    The basic assignment operator is "=". Your first inclination might
    be to think of this as "equal to". Don't. It really means that the
    left operand gets set to the value of the expression on the
    rights (that is, "gets set to").
   </simpara>
   <para>
    The value of an assignment expression is the value assigned. That
    is, the value of "$a = 3" is 3. This allows you to do some tricky
    things: 
    <informalexample>
     <programlisting role="php"> 
<![CDATA[
<?php

$a = ($b = 4) + 5; // $a is equal to 9 now, and $b has been set to 4.

?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </informalexample>
   </para>
   <para>
    In addition to the basic assignment operator, there are "combined
    operators" for all of the <link linkend="language.operators">binary
    arithmetic</link> and string operators that allow you to use a value in an
    expression and then set its value to the result of that expression. For
    example:
    <informalexample>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php

$a = 3;
$a += 5; // sets $a to 8, as if we had said: $a = $a + 5;
$b = "Hello ";
$b .= "There!"; // sets $b to "Hello There!", just like $b = $b . "There!";

?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </informalexample>
   </para>
   <para>
    Note that the assignment copies the original variable to the new
    one (assignment by value), so changes to one will not affect the
    other. This may also have relevance if you need to copy something
    like a large array inside a tight loop. Since PHP 4, assignment
    by reference has been supported, using the <computeroutput>$var =
    &amp;$othervar;</computeroutput> syntax, but this is not possible
    in PHP 3. 'Assignment by reference' means that both variables end
    up pointing at the same data, and nothing is copied anywhere. 
    To learn more about references, please read <link 
    linkend="language.references">References explained</link>.
   </para>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="language.operators.bitwise">
   <title>Bitwise Operators</title>
   <simpara>
    Bitwise operators allow you to turn specific bits within an
    integer on or off. If both the left- and right-hand parameters are
    strings, the bitwise operator will operate on the characters' ASCII
    values.
   </simpara>
   <para>
    <informalexample>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
echo 12 ^ 9; // Outputs '5'

echo "12" ^ "9"; // Outputs the Backspace character (ascii 8)
                 // ('1' (ascii 49)) ^ ('9' (ascii 57)) = #8

echo "hallo" ^ "hello"; // Outputs the ascii values #0 #4 #0 #0 #0
                        // 'a' ^ 'e' = #4
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </informalexample> 
   </para>

   <table>
    <title>Bitwise Operators</title>
    <tgroup cols="3">
     <thead>
      <row>
       <entry>Example</entry>
       <entry>Name</entry>
       <entry>Result</entry>
      </row>
     </thead>
     <tbody>
      <row>
       <entry>$a &amp; $b</entry>
       <entry>And</entry>
       <entry>Bits that are set in both $a and $b are set.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a | $b</entry>
       <entry>Or</entry>
       <entry>Bits that are set in either $a or $b are set.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a ^ $b</entry>
       <entry>Xor</entry>
       <entry>
        Bits that are set in $a or $b but not both are set.
       </entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>~ $a</entry>
       <entry>Not</entry>
       <entry>
        Bits that are set in $a are not set, and vice versa.
       </entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a &lt;&lt; $b</entry>
       <entry>Shift left</entry>
       <entry>
        Shift the bits of $a $b steps to the left (each step means
        "multiply by two")
       </entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a &gt;&gt; $b</entry>
       <entry>Shift right</entry>
       <entry>
        Shift the bits of $a $b steps to the right (each step means
        "divide by two")
       </entry>
      </row>
     </tbody>
    </tgroup>
   </table>
   <warning>
    <para>
     Don't right shift for more than 32 bits on 32 bits systems. Don't left shift
     in case it results to number longer than 32 bits.
    </para>
   </warning>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="language.operators.comparison">
   <title>Comparison Operators</title>
   <simpara>
    Comparison operators, as their name implies, allow you to compare
    two values.  You may also be interested in viewing
    <link linkend="types.comparisons">the type comparison tables</link>, 
    as they show examples of various type related comparisons.
   </simpara>
   <table>
    <title>Comparison Operators</title>
    <tgroup cols="3">
     <thead>
      <row>
       <entry>Example</entry>
       <entry>Name</entry>
       <entry>Result</entry>
      </row>
     </thead>
     <tbody>
      <row>
       <entry>$a == $b</entry>
       <entry>Equal</entry>
       <entry>&true; if $a is equal to $b.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a === $b</entry>
       <entry>Identical</entry>
       <entry>
        &true; if $a is equal to $b, and they are of the same
        type. (introduced in PHP 4)
       </entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a != $b</entry>
       <entry>Not equal</entry>
       <entry>&true; if $a is not equal to $b.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a &lt;&gt; $b</entry>
       <entry>Not equal</entry>
       <entry>&true; if $a is not equal to $b.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a !== $b</entry>
       <entry>Not identical</entry>
       <entry>
        &true; if $a is not equal to $b, or they are not of the same
        type. (introduced in PHP 4)
       </entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a &lt; $b</entry>
       <entry>Less than</entry>
       <entry>&true; if $a is strictly less than $b.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a &gt; $b</entry>
       <entry>Greater than</entry>
       <entry>&true; if $a is strictly greater than $b.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a &lt;= $b</entry>
       <entry>Less than or equal to </entry>
       <entry>&true; if $a is less than or equal to $b.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a &gt;= $b</entry>
       <entry>Greater than or equal to </entry>
       <entry>&true; if $a is greater than or equal to $b.</entry>
      </row>
     </tbody>
    </tgroup>
   </table>
   <para>
    If you compare an integer with a string, the string is
    <link linkend="language.types.string.conversion">converted to a number</link>.
    If you compare two numerical strings, they are compared as integers. These
    rules also apply to the
    <link linkend="control-structures.switch">switch</link> statement.
    <informalexample>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
var_dump(0 == "a"); // 0 == 0 -> true
var_dump("1" == "01"); // 1 == 1 -> true

switch ("a") {
case 0:
    echo "0";
    break;
case "a": // never reached because "a" is already matched with 0
    echo "a";
    break;
}
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </informalexample> 
   </para>

   <para>
    See also <function>strcasecmp</function>,
    <function>strcmp</function>,
    <link linkend="language.operators.array">Array operators</link>,
    and the manual section on
    <link linkend="language.types">Types</link>.
   </para>

   <sect2 id="language.operators.comparison.ternary">
    <title>Ternary Operator</title>
    <para>
     Another conditional operator is the "?:" (or ternary) operator.
     <example>
      <title>Assigning a default value</title>
      <programlisting role="php">
 <![CDATA[
 <?php
 // Example usage for: Ternary Operator
 $action = (empty($_POST['action'])) ? 'default' : $_POST['action'];

 // The above is identical to this if/else statement
 if (empty($_POST['action'])) {
     $action = 'default';
 } else {
     $action = $_POST['action'];
 }

 ?>
 ]]>
      </programlisting>
     </example> 
     The expression <literal>(expr1) ? (expr2) : (expr3)</literal>
     evaluates to <replaceable>expr2</replaceable> if
     <replaceable>expr1</replaceable> evaluates to &true;, and
     <replaceable>expr3</replaceable> if
     <replaceable>expr1</replaceable> evaluates to &false;.
    </para>
   </sect2>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="language.operators.errorcontrol">
   <title>Error Control Operators</title>
   <simpara>
    PHP supports one error control operator: the at sign (@). When
    prepended to an expression in PHP, any error messages that might
    be generated by that expression will be ignored.
   </simpara>
   <simpara>
    If the <link linkend="ini.track-errors"><option>track_errors</option></link>
    feature is enabled, any error message generated by the expression
    will be saved in the variable
    <link linkend="reserved.variables.phperrormsg">$php_errormsg</link>.
    This variable will be overwritten on each error, so check early if you
    want to use it.
   </simpara>
   <para>
    <informalexample>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
/* Intentional file error */
$my_file = @file ('non_existent_file') or
    die ("Failed opening file: error was '$php_errormsg'");

// this works for any expression, not just functions:
$value = @$cache[$key]; 
// will not issue a notice if the index $key doesn't exist.

?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </informalexample>
   </para>
   <note>
    <simpara>
     The @-operator works only on
     <link linkend="language.expressions">expressions</link>. A simple rule
     of thumb is: if you can take the value of something, you can prepend
     the @ operator to it. For instance, you can prepend it to variables,
     function and <function>include</function> calls, constants, and
     so forth. You cannot prepend it to function or class definitions,
     or conditional structures such as <literal>if</literal> and
     <literal>foreach</literal>, and so forth.
    </simpara>
   </note>
   <simpara>
    See also <function>error_reporting</function> and the manual section for
    <link linkend="ref.errorfunc">Error Handling and Logging functions</link>.
   </simpara>
   <warning>
    <para>
     Currently the "@" error-control operator prefix will even disable
     error reporting for critical errors that will terminate script
     execution. Among other things, this means that if you use "@" to
     suppress errors from a certain function and either it isn't
     available or has been mistyped, the script will die right there
     with no indication as to why.
    </para>
   </warning>
  </sect1>
  
  <sect1 id="language.operators.execution">
   <title>Execution Operators</title>
   <para>
    PHP supports one execution operator: backticks (``). Note that
    these are not single-quotes! PHP will attempt to execute the
    contents of the backticks as a shell command; the output will be
    returned (i.e., it won't simply be dumped to output; it can be
    assigned to a variable).  Use of the backtick operator is identical 
    to <function>shell_exec</function>. 
    <informalexample>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$output = `ls -al`;
echo "<pre>$output</pre>";
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </informalexample>
   </para>
   <note>
    <para>
     The backtick operator is disabled when &safemode; is enabled
     or <function>shell_exec</function> is disabled.
    </para>
   </note>
   <para>
    See also the manual section on <link linkend="ref.exec">Program
    Execution functions</link>, <function>popen</function>
    <function>proc_open</function>, and
    <link linkend="features.commandline">Using PHP from the
    commandline</link>.
   </para>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="language.operators.increment">
   <title>Incrementing/Decrementing Operators</title>
   <para>
    PHP supports C-style pre- and post-increment and decrement
    operators.
   </para>
   <table>
    <title>Increment/decrement Operators</title>
    <tgroup cols="3">
     <thead>
      <row>
       <entry>Example</entry>
       <entry>Name</entry>
       <entry>Effect</entry>
      </row>
     </thead>
     <tbody>
      <row>
       <entry>++$a</entry>
       <entry>Pre-increment</entry>
       <entry>Increments $a by one, then returns $a.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a++</entry>
       <entry>Post-increment</entry>
       <entry>Returns $a, then increments $a by one.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>--$a</entry>
       <entry>Pre-decrement</entry>
       <entry>Decrements $a by one, then returns $a.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a--</entry>
       <entry>Post-decrement</entry>
       <entry>Returns $a, then decrements $a by one.</entry>
      </row>
     </tbody>
    </tgroup>
   </table>
   <para>
    Here's a simple example script:
    <informalexample>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
echo "<h3>Postincrement</h3>";
$a = 5;
echo "Should be 5: " . $a++ . "<br />\n";
echo "Should be 6: " . $a . "<br />\n";

echo "<h3>Preincrement</h3>";
$a = 5;
echo "Should be 6: " . ++$a . "<br />\n";
echo "Should be 6: " . $a . "<br />\n";

echo "<h3>Postdecrement</h3>";
$a = 5;
echo "Should be 5: " . $a-- . "<br />\n";
echo "Should be 4: " . $a . "<br />\n";

echo "<h3>Predecrement</h3>";
$a = 5;
echo "Should be 4: " . --$a . "<br />\n";
echo "Should be 4: " . $a . "<br />\n";
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </informalexample>
   </para>
   <para>
    PHP follows Perl's convention when dealing with arithmetic operations
    on character variables and not C's.  For example, in Perl 'Z'+1 turns
    into 'AA', while in C 'Z'+1 turns into '[' ( ord('Z') == 90, ord('[') == 91 ).
    Note that character variables can be incremented but not decremented.
    <example>
     <title>Arithmetic Operations on Character Variables</title>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$i = 'W';
for($n=0; $n<6; $n++)
  echo ++$i . "\n";
]]>
     </programlisting>
     &example.outputs;
     <screen>
<![CDATA[
X
Y
Z
AA
AB
AC
]]>
     </screen>
    </example>
   </para>
   <para>
    Incrementing or decrementing booleans has no effect.
   </para>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="language.operators.logical">
   <title>Logical Operators</title>

   <table>
    <title>Logical Operators</title>
    <tgroup cols="3">
     <thead>
      <row>
       <entry>Example</entry>
       <entry>Name</entry>
       <entry>Result</entry>
      </row>
     </thead>
     <tbody>
      <row>
       <entry>$a and $b</entry>
       <entry>And</entry>
       <entry>&true; if both $a and $b are &true;.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a or $b</entry>
       <entry>Or</entry>
       <entry>&true; if either $a or $b is &true;.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a xor $b</entry>
       <entry>Xor</entry>
       <entry>&true; if either $a or $b is &true;, but not both.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>! $a</entry>
       <entry>Not</entry>
       <entry>&true; if $a is not &true;.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a &amp;&amp; $b</entry>
       <entry>And</entry>
       <entry>&true; if both $a and $b are &true;.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a || $b</entry>
       <entry>Or</entry>
       <entry>&true; if either $a or $b is &true;.</entry>
      </row>
     </tbody>
    </tgroup>
   </table>
   <simpara>
    The reason for the two different variations of "and" and "or"
    operators is that they operate at different precedences. (See
    <link linkend="language.operators.precedence">Operator
    Precedence</link>.)
   </simpara>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="language.operators.string">
   <title>String Operators</title>
   <simpara>
    There are two <type>string</type> operators. The first is the
    concatenation operator ('.'), which returns the concatenation of its
    right and left arguments. The second is the concatenating assignment
    operator ('.='), which appends the argument on the right side to
    the argument on the left side. Please read <link
    linkend="language.operators.assignment">Assignment
    Operators</link> for more information.
   </simpara>

   <para>
    <informalexample>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$a = "Hello ";
$b = $a . "World!"; // now $b contains "Hello World!"

$a = "Hello ";
$a .= "World!";     // now $a contains "Hello World!"
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </informalexample>
   </para>
   <para>
    See also the manual sections on the 
    <link linkend="language.types.string">String type</link> and 
    <link linkend="ref.strings">String functions</link>.
   </para>
  </sect1>
  
  <sect1 id="language.operators.array">
   <title>Array Operators</title>
   <table>
    <title>Array Operators</title>
    <tgroup cols="3">
     <thead>
      <row>
       <entry>Example</entry>
       <entry>Name</entry>
       <entry>Result</entry>
      </row>
     </thead>
     <tbody>
      <row>
       <entry>$a + $b</entry>
       <entry>Union</entry>
       <entry>Union of $a and $b.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a == $b</entry>
       <entry>Equality</entry>
       <entry>&true; if $a and $b have the same key/value pairs.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a === $b</entry>
       <entry>Identity</entry>
       <entry>&true; if $a and $b have the same key/value pairs in the same
        order and of the same types.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a != $b</entry>
       <entry>Inequality</entry>
       <entry>&true; if $a is not equal to $b.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a &lt;&gt; $b</entry>
       <entry>Inequality</entry>
       <entry>&true; if $a is not equal to $b.</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
       <entry>$a !== $b</entry>
       <entry>Non-identity</entry>
       <entry>&true; if $a is not identical to $b.</entry>
      </row>
     </tbody>
    </tgroup>
   </table>
   <para>
    The <literal>+</literal> operator
    appends the right handed array to the left handed, whereas 
    duplicated keys are NOT overwritten.
   </para>
   <para>
    <informalexample>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$a = array("a" => "apple", "b" => "banana");
$b = array("a" => "pear", "b" => "strawberry", "c" => "cherry");

$c = $a + $b; // Union of $a and $b
echo "Union of \$a and \$b: \n";
var_dump($c);

$c = $b + $a; // Union of $b and $a
echo "Union of \$b and \$a: \n";
var_dump($c);
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </informalexample>
    When executed, this script will print the following:
    <screen role="php">
<![CDATA[
Union of $a and $b:
array(3) {
  ["a"]=>
  string(5) "apple"
  ["b"]=>
  string(6) "banana"
  ["c"]=>
  string(6) "cherry"
}
Union of $b and $a:
array(3) {
  ["a"]=>
  string(4) "pear"
  ["b"]=>
  string(10) "strawberry"
  ["c"]=>
  string(6) "cherry"
}
]]>
    </screen>
   </para>
   <para>
    Elements of arrays are equal for the comparison if they have the
    same key and value.
   </para>
   <para>
    <example>
     <title>Comparing arrays</title>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$a = array("apple", "banana");
$b = array(1 => "banana", "0" => "apple");

var_dump($a == $b); // bool(true)
var_dump($a === $b); // bool(false)
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </example>
   </para>
   <para>
    See also the manual sections on the 
    <link linkend="language.types.array">Array type</link> and 
    <link linkend="ref.array">Array functions</link>.
   </para>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="language.operators.type">
   <title>Type Operators</title>
   <para>
    PHP has a single type operator: <literal>instanceof</literal>. 
    <literal>instanceof</literal> is used to determine whether a given
    object is of a specified <link linkend="language.oop">object class</link>.
   </para>
   <simpara>
    The <literal>instanceof</literal> operator was introduced in PHP 5.
    Before this time <function>is_a</function> was used but
    <function>is_a</function> has since been deprecated in favor of
    <literal>instanceof</literal>. 
   </simpara>
   <informalexample>
    <programlisting>
<![CDATA[
<?php
class A { }
class B { }

$thing = new A;

if ($thing instanceof A) {
    echo 'A';
}
if ($thing instanceof B) {
    echo 'B';
}
?>
]]>
    </programlisting>
    <simpara>
     As <varname>$thing</varname> is an <type>object</type> of type A, but
     not B, only the block dependent on the A type will be executed:
    </simpara>
    <screen>A</screen>
   </informalexample>
   <para>
    See also <function>get_class</function> and 
    <function>is_a</function>.
   </para>
  </sect1>
 </chapter>
 
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