Question

In an effort to produce cleaner PHP files, I want to echo less HTML and embed more PHP. I’ve stumbled upon constructs like the following:

<?php
foreach($allOGroups as $ogroup):
if($lastGroup != $ogroup['group']):
if($lastGroup !== null):
?>

</optgroup>

<?php
endif;
?>

I’ve googled for a while now but can’t seem to find a tutorial on how to use this mysterious “:” operator. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks,
MrB

Answer 1

As you have discovered, the mysterious : is simply an alternative syntax to opening and closing curly brackets. It’s most effective when you’re mingling PHP with HTML, since it makes it easier to discover whether you’re closing an if, for, foreach or while structure.

if($foo):
  // Do something
endif;

for($i = 0; $i < 10; $i++):
  // Do something
endfor;

foreach($foo as $k, $v):
  // Do something
endforeach;

while($foo):
  // Do something
endwhile;