PHP for the Web·PHP from first script to a working app

Control flow and loops

Branch with if and match, then loop with for, while and foreach.

Beginner 13 min read Lesson 2 of 300 Challenge included

What you will be able to do

Use if/elseif/else for general conditions.
Use match when mapping one value to one result.
Prefer foreach for arrays.
Break out of loops deliberately and avoid deeply nested branches.

In plain English

Most PHP is data shaping: decide what to show, then iterate over rows. match is a strict comparison expression and returns a value, which makes it cleaner than a long if chain for mapping states to labels.

flow.phpPHP

<?php
$status = 'published';

$label = match ($status) {
    'draft' => 'Draft',
    'published' => 'Live',
    default => 'Unknown',
};

foreach (['HTML', 'CSS', 'PHP'] as $index => $course) {
    echo ($index + 1) . ". {$course}\n";
}

Your turn

Map a score to a grade

Easy

Write a match expression that returns A for 90 and above, B for 80 and above, and C otherwise.

PHP · starter

$score = 84;

Check your understanding before moving on.

Knowledge checkQuestion 1

How does match compare values?

Select an answer to continue

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Next: Functions and scope

Lesson 2 of 300 · 0% of course