Programming is all about choices. Everything you do in code boils down to answering a question: What should happen if X condition is true? That is where PHP’s if-else block steps in. if-else helps you control the flow of your program.
In this tutorial, you will understand how the if-else block works with examples.
What Exactly Is an If-Else Block?
The else block is the final part of an if statement, executed when none of the other conditions are true.
Think of the if-else block as the decision-making engine of your PHP code. It allows you to define, “If this condition is met, take this action; otherwise, handle it differently.”
Here is the basic structure:
if (condition) {
} else {
// Code to run if the condition is false
}So, the if part checks a condition. If it is false, the else runs a code in else {} block.
Let’s say you are creating a website that greets visitors based on their login status. Here is how you would do it:
$isLoggedIn = true;
if ($isLoggedIn) {
echo "Welcome back!";
} else {
echo "Please log in to continue.";
}- If
$isLoggedInistrue, your user gets a warm “Welcome back!” message. - Otherwise, they will need to log in.
Let’s move on to the following section to see more examples.
Examples of PHP if else Block
Else with No Curly Braces
Using this syntax, you are limited to a single statement—trying to include multiple statements without curly braces will not work.
$is_logged = false;
if ( $is_logged )
echo "Welcome to flatcoding.com";
else
echo "Invalid Username or Password";You can also use it with other languages like JavaScript, HTML, and more. Let’s see how you can do that in the below section.
PHP IF Else with Embedded Syntax
Here, you can mix PHP code with HTML markup or other content. If the condition does not pass, it outputs something different. Take a look at this example:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>The PHP IF ELSE</title>
<?php if ( false ): ?>
<?php else: ?>
<script type="javascript">alert("Hello World");</script>
<?php endif;?>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Welcome to Home Page !</h1>
</body>
</html>In this example, the JavaScript code runs when the main if statement does not meet the condition.
Let’s summarize it
Wrapping Up
The if-else statement is used to execute PHP statements when the if condition fails to evaluate to the true boolean value.
Here is a quick example:
if ( false ) {
} else {
// This block executes once the if condition fails to execute.
}Additionally, the if-else statement can be written with curly braces, without braces, or with embedded syntax, and here you can use it with any other language as well.
Thank you for reading. Happy Coding!