PHP Basics: Return Statement

In PHP, the return statement is used to return a value from a function. It terminates the execution of the function and sends the specified value back to the calling code.

Here is an example of how it works:

function add($x, $y) {
  $sum = $x + $y;
  return $sum;
}

$result = add(2, 3); // $result will be equal to 5 In this example, the add() function takes two parameters, $x and $y, and adds them together to calculate the sum. The return statement is used to return the value of the $sum variable to the calling code. In this case, the function will return the value 5 to the calling code, which can then be stored in a variable or used in some other way.

The return statement is often used in combination with if statements to control the flow of a function. For example, you might use an if statement to check the input parameters and only return a value if the input is valid.

Here is an example:

function add($x, $y) {
  if (is_numeric($x) && is_numeric($y)) {
    $sum = $x + $y;
    return $sum;
  } else {
    return null;
  }
}

$result = add(2, 3); // $result will be equal to 5 $result = add("hello", "world"); // $result will be equal to null

In this example, the add() function checks if the input parameters $x and $y are numeric using the is_numeric() function. If they are numeric, the function calculates the sum and returns it. If they are not numeric, the function returns null. This allows you to control the output of the function based on the input and ensure that you are always returning a valid value.