PHP Foreach Loop Tutorial

1. Basic Syntax of Foreach

The basic syntax of the foreach loop is as follows:

foreach ($array as $value) {
    // Code to be executed
}
                

In this structure, $array is the array you want to iterate over, and $value is a temporary variable that holds the current element's value during each iteration.

2. Example of Foreach Loop with Indexed Array

Here's an example that demonstrates how to use the foreach loop with an indexed array:

$fruits = ["Apple", "Banana", "Cherry", "Date"];

foreach ($fruits as $fruit) {
    echo $fruit . "<br>";
}
// Output:
// Apple
// Banana
// Cherry
// Date
                

This loop iterates over the $fruits array and echoes each fruit on a new line.

3. Foreach Loop with Associative Array

The foreach loop can also be used with associative arrays, allowing you to access both keys and values:

$person = [
    "name" => "John",
    "age" => 30,
    "city" => "New York"
];

foreach ($person as $key => $value) {
    echo "$key: $value<br>";
}
// Output:
// name: John
// age: 30
// city: New York
                

In this example, each key-value pair from the $person array is accessed and displayed.

4. Nesting Foreach Loops

You can also nest foreach loops to iterate over multi-dimensional arrays. Here’s how it works:

$students = [
    ["name" => "Alice", "age" => 20],
    ["name" => "Bob", "age" => 22],
    ["name" => "Charlie", "age" => 23]
];

foreach ($students as $student) {
    foreach ($student as $key => $value) {
        echo "$key: $value<br>";
    }
    echo "<br>"; // Adds a line break between students
}
// Output:
// name: Alice
// age: 20
// 
// name: Bob
// age: 22
// 
// name: Charlie
// age: 23
                

This code iterates over a multi-dimensional array of students and outputs each student's details.

5. Conclusion

The foreach loop is a powerful tool in PHP for iterating through arrays and objects. It simplifies the process of working with collections of data, making your code cleaner and more readable.