Why $x=5; $x+++$x++; equals with 11 in PHP?

✔ Recommended Answer

It took me a few reads, but $x=5; $x++ + $x++; works like this:

In the case of a $x++, it first 'gets used', then increased:

• $x=5; — Set $x to 5
• $x++ + ... — Use, then increment
  • Place $x onto formulae stack (which is 5)
  • Increment(++) ($x is now 6, stack=[5])
• ... + $x++; — Use, then increment
  • Add $x onto stack (stack=[5,6], so 5+6 -> $x=11)
  • Adding is done, that outcome is 11
  • Increment $x(++) (which is isn't used further, but $x is now 7)

Actually, in this specific example, if you would echo $x;it would output 7. You never reassign the value back to $x, so $x=7 (you incremented it twice);

Source: stackoverflow.com

Answered By: Martijn

Method #2

In PHP, the operator precedence determines the order in which operators are evaluated in an expression. In the expression $x++ + $x++, the post-increment operator ($x++) has a higher precedence than the addition operator (+), so it is evaluated first.

The first time $x++ is encountered, the value of $x is 5, but the post-increment operator increments the value of $x to 6 and returns the original value (5). The second time $x++ is encountered, the value of $x is now 6, but the post-increment operator again increments the value of $x to 7 and returns the original value (6).

So, the expression $x++ + $x++ is effectively evaluated as 5 + 6, which equals 11. That's why $x will have the value of 7 after this expression is evaluated.