PHP Programming
COMP203TH
Lecture: 7
PHP Operator Precedence and Associativity
E.g. in maths, you must have learned about BODMAS that
specifies the order in which a calculator or a computer performs
a sequence of mathematical operations: Brackets, Order,
Division, Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction.
Similarly, PHP follows a similar set of rules when determining
which operators have precedence over others.
The precedence of an operator specifies how tightly it binds two expressions
together.
e.g. in the expression 1 + 5 * 3, the answer is 16 and not 18, because the
multiplication (*) operator has a higher precedence than the addition (+)
operator.
When operators have equal precedence their associativity decides how the
operations are grouped.
e.g.
“-” is left-associative, so 1 – 2 – 3 is grouped as (1 – 2) - 3 and evaluates
to -4.
“=” is right-associative, so $a = $b = $c is grouped as $a = ( $b = $c ).
Precedence and associativity are two characteristics of operators that
determine the evaluation order of sub-expressions in absence of
brackets.
Parentheses always have the highest precedence, so wrapping an expression in
parentheses will force PHP to evaluate it first.
Below table lists the operators in order of precedence with the highest-
precedence ones at the top. Operators on the same line have equal precedence,
in which case associativity decides grouping.
Associativity Operator Remarks
Right ** exponentiation
n/a ++ -- increment/decrement
n/a ! logical operator
left */ % arithmetic
left +-. arithmetic and string
left << >> bitwise
non-associative < <= > >== comparison
left & bitwise
left ^ bitwise
left | bitwise
left && logical
left || logical
left ?: ternary
right = += -= all assignment operators
left and logical
left xor logical
left or logical
Note: in the above table observe the precedence level of “and” and “or”,
“&&” and “||”.
