PHP - Difference between if () { } and if () : endif;

Question

Are there any differences between these?

if ($value) {

}

if ($value):

endif;

I think the second way is new to PHP 5.. therefore is it better because it is newer?

Update

I have been informed that the second way is not new.

Answer 1

They are the same but the second one is great if you have MVC in your code and don't want to have a lot of echos in your code. F.e. in my .phtml files (Zend Framework) I will write something like this:

<?php if($this->value): ?>
Hello
<?php elseif($this->asd): ?>
Your name is: <?= $this->name ?>
<? else: ?>
You don't have a name.
<?php endif; ?>

Answer 2

I would use the first option if at all possible, regardless of the new option. The syntax is standard and everyone knows it. It's also backwards compatible.

Answer 3

At out company, the preferred way for handling HTML is:

<? if($condition) { ?>
   HTML content here
<? } else { ?>
   Other HTML content here
<? } ?>

In the end, it really is a matter of choosing one and sticking with it.

Answer 4

Here's where you can find it in the official documentation: PHP: Alternative syntax for control structures

Answer 5

Both are the same.

But: If you want to use PHP as your templating language in your view files(the V of MVC) you can use this alternate syntax to distinguish between php code written to implement business-logic (Controller and Model parts of MVC) and gui-logic. Of course it is not mandatory and you can use what ever syntax you like.

ZF uses that approach.

Answer 6

There is no technical difference between the two syntaxes. The alternative syntax is not new; it was supported at least as far back as PHP 4, and perhaps even earlier.

You might prefer the alternative form because it explicitly states which control structure is ending: endwhile, for example, can only terminate a while block, whereas if you encounter a brace, it could be closing anything.

You might prefer the traditional syntax, though, if you use an editor that has special support for braces in other C-like syntaxes. Vim, for example, supports several keystrokes for navigating to matching braces and to the starts and ends of brace-delimited blocks. The alternative syntax would break that editor feature.

Answer 7

I think it's a matter of preference. I personally use:

if($something){
       $execute_something;
}

Answer 8

I personally really hate the alternate syntax. One nice thing about the braces is that most IDEs, vim, etc all have bracket highlighting. In my text editor I can double click a brace and it will highlight the whole chunk so I can see where it ends and begins very easily.

I don't know of a single editor that can highlight endif, endforeach, etc.

Answer 9

I think this say it all:

this alternative syntax is excellent for improving legibility (for both PHP and HTML!) in situations where you have a mix of them.

http://ca3.php.net/manual/en/control-structures.alternative-syntax.php

When mixing HTML an PHP the alternative sytnax is much easier to read. In normal PHP documents the traditional syntax should be used.

Answer 10

I used to use the curly braces but now a days I prefer to use this short-hand alternative syntax because of code readability and accessibility.