PHP - Echo

As you saw in the previous lesson, the PHP function echo is a means of outputting text to the web
browser. Throughout your PHP career you will be using the echo function more than any other. So let's give it a
solid perusal!

Outputting a String

To output a string, like we have done in previous lessons, use the PHP echo function. You can place
either a string variable or you can use quotes, like we do below, to create a string that the echo function will
output.

PHP Code:
<?php
$myString = "Hello!";
echo $myString;
echo "<h5>I love using PHP!</h5>";
?>

Display:
Hello!

I love using PHP!

In the above example we output "Hello!" without a hitch. The text we are outputting is being sent to the
user in the form of a web page, so it is important that we use proper HTML syntax!
In our second echo statement we use echo to write a valid Header 5 HTML statement. To do this we
simply put the <h5> at the beginning of the string and closed it at the end of the string. Just because you're
using PHP to make web pages does not mean you can forget about HTML syntax!

Careful When Echoing Quotes!

It is pretty cool that you can output HTML with PHP. However, you must be careful when using HTML
code or any other string that includes quotes! The echo function uses quotes to define the beginning and
end of the string, so you must use one of the following tactics if your string contains quotations:

• Don't use quotes inside your string

• Escape your quotes that are within the string with a slash. To escape a quote just place a slash directly
before the quotation mark, i.e. \"
• Use single quotes (apostrophes) for quotes inside your string.

See our example below for the right and wrong use of the echo function: