Question

When I want to use a variable value within a string, I connect them with . (dot) operator.

I see that some people use {$variable} within a string instead.

So..my example:

"my name is ".$variable

some people use it:

"my name is {$variable}"

What is the difference between above two examples?

Answer 1

It’s used when you want to append a string to the value in the variable inside a string.

$variable = 'hack';

// now I want to append 'ed' to $variable:    

echo "my name is {$variable}";   // prints my name is hack

echo "my name is {$variable}ed"; // prints my name is hacked

echo "my name is $variable";     // prints my name is hack

echo "my name is $variableed";   // Variable $variableed not defined.