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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.
Echo and Print are both commands used to display something to the browser. Both are used in similar structure, and both are identical in output. So what, then, is the use for having two commands that appear to do the exact same thing?
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.
There is the issue of speed that comes along with the fact that Print has to return a value. The extra load will indeed affect performance, but on such a small level that it isn’t even noticeable. It is recommended that PHP developers not take such a trivial amount of performance into mind, and instead pick the printing command that best suits them.
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
PHP development just wouldn’t be the same without fun debates such as the one just mentioned. But in reality, it really doesn’t matter which route is taken- so long as either language construct is used in a performance-based manner. Although Print may still have somewhat of a following today, as books and publishers start using Echo more often, it’s likely we’ll see a death to the Print command soon enough.