How to read php
i'm learning php, I wrote this. (It is from a book)
<?php if(!empty($data)): ?>
<ul>
<?php foreach ($data as $dataprint): ?>
<li><?= $dataprint ?></li>
<?php endforeach ?>
</ul>
I am unable to understand some of the code in this section.
1. Why are there colons on line 1 and 3?
2. What does the '<?= $dataprint ?> ) and why does it not have the standard 'PHP' word?
3. why is there an equal mark in the next?
colons - this is a shorthand version of statements, you should not really learn them at such an early stage. First you need to learn the full versions.
<?= $variable ?>
is a short version of <?php echo $variable ?>
but means exactly the same.
Also, the shordhand versions from question one are actually not considered a good practice, because when you nest them they are hard to read.