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PHP Looping - While Loops

Loops execute a block of code a specified number of times, or while a specified condition is true.

PHP Loops

Often when you write code, you want the same block of code to run over and over again in a row. Instead of adding several almost equal lines in a script we can use loops to perform a task like this.

In PHP, we have the following looping statements:

  • while - loops through a block of code while a specified condition is true
  • do...while - loops through a block of code once, and then repeats the loop as long as a specified condition is true
  • for - loops through a block of code a specified number of times
  • foreach - loops through a block of code for each element in an array

The while Loop

The while loop executes a block of code while a condition is true.

Syntax

while (condition)
  {
  code to be executed;
  }

Example

The example below defines a loop that starts with i=1. The loop will continue to run as long as i is less than, or equal to 5. i will increase by 1 each time the loop runs:

<html>
<body>

<?php
$i=1;
while($i<=5)
  {
  echo "The number is " . $i . "<br />";
  $i++;
  }
?>

</body>
</html>

Output:

The number is 1
The number is 2
The number is 3
The number is 4
The number is 5

The do...while Statement

The do...while statement will always execute the block of code once, it will then check the condition, and repeat the loop while the condition is true.

Syntax

do
  {
  code to be executed;
  }
while (condition);

Example

The example below defines a loop that starts with i=1. It will then increment i with 1, and write some output. Then the condition is checked, and the loop will continue to run as long as i is less than, or equal to 5:

<html>
<body>

<?php
$i=1;
do
  {
  $i++;
  echo "The number is " . $i . "<br />";
  }
while ($i<=5);
?>

</body>
</html>

Output:

The number is 2
The number is 3
The number is 4
The number is 5
The number is 6

The for loop and the foreach loop will be explained in the next chapter.


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