Few other web development languages have done as much for web developers as PHP has. And in learning all the complexities of the language, web developers will be able to better become higher paid, more satisfied, and better prepared to make the next best web application. But taking baby steps in getting there is important: and the finer things such as knowing the difference between Echo and Print become clear.
Two commands are used to output text to the screen: Print and Echo. But since both do the same thing, why would there be two different commands? The answer, interestingly enough, eludes even some PHP experts.
As it turns out, Echo is actually a language construct that doesn’t return a value, in which Print does. This simple fact means that Print can be used in some instances where Echo can’t, although developers will probably never run into such a situation. In fact, many PHP developers stick with Echo their entire career and will never see a problem.
Speed is a major concern in web applications. This holds true with the Print and Echo commands since it is logical to think that Print would cost more in resources to operate. This logic is actually true, although the differences in performance are so small that it isn’t even worth choosing one construct over the other solely based on performance.
So far the industry standard has been to use Echo, but it should be stressed that either command may be used at will. Echo seems to be the favorite as it is easier to type, not to mention it’s a fun word to say! Those who favor the Print command are usually older programmers, who are accustomed to using the command Print from other programming languages that are now considered archaic.
Even though speed should always be an issue, it’s important to focus one’s attention not on selecting a language construct for printing- but rather how they use it. Too often developers will use multiple Print or Echo calls, only to organize their code. But this can drastically degrade performance if enough calls are made, so it’s recommended to choose the language construct of one’s choice- but use it wisely.
Closing Comments
End the end, the battle between Echo and print is never ending. The trends do seem to show that Echo is much more popular, but with little reasons. The speed benefit is so small that it’s negligible- especially among faster systems that technology has produced where such effects go unnoticed. And because many books and online publications stick true to the Echo command, it’s likely we’ll only be seeing more of it as time goes on, and less of the fabled Print command that older generations have favored.
