What is the difference between "<<

Question

Could anyone provide some sort of documentation on the differences and or benefits of using

$sql = <<<SQL
      SELECT COUNT(ParentGUID) 
      FROM siteobjects  
SQL;

Instead of using just using.

  $sql = "SELECT COUNT(ParentGUID) 
      FROM siteobjects";

Struggling to find any information on this due to searching for "<<

Amal Murali · Accepted Answer · 2013-11-13T12:33:26.863

1

The first one uses HEREDOC syntax. It's useful when you're working with multi-line strings and to avoid quoting problems. To solve the search issue, you can use a programming search engine that doesn't ignore special characters (like SymbolHound).

edited Nov 13 '13 at 12:33

answered Nov 13 '13 at 12:22

Amal Murali

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Thanks for the search tool and answer! – D4nkM4st3rPr0xSwaag Nov 13 '13 at 12:32
@user2661326: Glad to have been of help. :) – Amal Murali Nov 13 '13 at 12:33

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 13 '13 at 12:23

0

There's no difference except for the fact that the HEREDOC would have white spaces in the start (because of tabulation).

answered Nov 13 '13 at 12:23

h2ooooooo

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 13 '13 at 12:25

That's PHP Heredocs syntax (http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.types.string.php#language.types.string.syntax.heredoc). I prefer heredocs over simple strings because almost any IDE recognize the syntax, and it's more readable, but both options are possible.

What is the difference between "<<

3 Answers3