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PHP Build a Basic PHP Website Listing and Sorting Inventory Items Displaying All Items

Posted by Edsel Talento
Edsel Talento
16,922 Points

Generating html using PHP-Why single the quote comes first before the double quote also we concatenate inside the quotes

echo "<li><a href = '#'><img src = '" . $item["img"]. "' alt = '" . $item["title"]. "' />" . "<p>View Details</p>" . "</a></li>";

John Keenan
John Keenan
6,313 Points

This could also be written like the following: 

echo "
<li><a href = '#'><img src = '{$item["img"]}' alt = '{$item["title"]}' />
<p>View Details</p>
</a></li>";

However, this does require using double quotes. To answer your question more clearly, your example doesn't require the use of double quotes first and single quotes second (vice versa), only in the example above requires double quotes. I believe it's just a coding standard to do it that way and when you use single quotes in HTML, you don't have to escape the string.

1 Answer

jlampstack
jlampstack
23,932 Points
jlampstack
jlampstack
23,932 Points

Often there is more than one correct way to write a line of code. Use what is easiest. I happen to agree and prefer combining "double" and 'single' quotes to avoid concatenating. It feels more natural when reading. Here's a third approach. 

foreach( $catalog as $item => $index ) {
  echo "<li>
               <a href='#'>
                 <img src=' {$index['img']} ' alt=' {$index['title']} ' />
                   <p>View Details</p>
                </a>
              </li>";
}

It lines up nicer in my code editor than when using markdown.

jlampstack
jlampstack
23,932 Points

I believe this is an older course with more introductory concepts. Perhaps this is part of the reason? I noticed a few shorthands that weren't accepted for the earlier code challenges.

Things like the ternary operator and the short echo tag which is really neat and easy to read.

// Example
<p><?= date("Y") ?> Personal Media Library</p>