Why is it so hard for people to explain what a return means in php in simple terms?

Wow its making more sense now so if I did some math in a php function and I wanted the answer to be revealed to me I will have to use the return code to get my answer? Like for example 1+2 and I want my answer then I will use the return code to give me this right = 3 ? I know that's not php example but i'm trying to make that math example easy for me to understand what your really trying to say in easier terms for me to understand.

a function can be used to do almost anything, doing a Math calculation on something is just 1 thing it can do. Simple math problems are easier to understand for examples though.

For example you could make a function add two numbers (YOU GIVE IT) together and divide by two then RETURN you that answer (or value)

like this:

 <?php
    // Now our function is EXPECTING 2 inputs
    // The first item passed will get set to $num1
    // The second item passed will get set to $num2

    function add_and_divide_by_two($num1, $num2){
        $new_value = ($num1 + $num2) / 2; // this is our calculated VALUE
        // the parenthesis around $num1 and $num2 are ensuring, 
        // we total up before we divide. Order of operations apply here, just like in Math class.
        return $new_value; // return the VALUE
    }


    $number1 = 6; // storing integer 6 in variable
    $number2 = 8; // storing integer 8 in variable

    /*
        Here we are passing both variables that each hold a number.
        $number1 is holding a 6
        $number2 is holding an 8

        But this time we are setting $answer variable equal to 
        whatever is returned from our 'magic box' named add_and_divide_by_two()
     */
    $answer = add_and_divide_by_two($number1, $number2);

    /* 
        Since we can access our 'magic box' that does some math for us by its name.
        We can call it multiple times passing it different things.

        This time I wont store the numbers in a variable, I will directly pass them in.
        The order matters though.

        Because our function looks like this:

        function add_and_divide_by_two($num1, $num2)

        10 gets passed to our function, then our function temporarily stores it in a variable called $num1
        20 gets stored into $num2 because we passed it as the 2nd item.
    */
    $another_answer = add_and_divide_by_two(10, 20);

    echo $answer . ' ';
    echo $another_answer . ' ';

      /*
          We passed in a 6 and 8 for the $answer variable. 6 + 8 = 14 then divide by 2 is: 7
          We passed in a 10 and 20 for $another_answer. 10 + 20 = 30 then divide by 2 is: 15

          Output for these two echo statements are:
           7 15
      */

?>

Sorry if this sounds rude but can you just give me a straight answer to what I said about my math statement I said about if the return value will be 3? I just tend to get confused when people respond with a very long answer rather than a direct short answer.

Yes if you write a function that does a math calculation like you said: 1+3. if at the end of your function if you return 1+3;

That function will "give back" that answer. Which will be 4. But it hands it back to the line that originally called it, so if you set a variable equal to a function. That variable will equal whatever is returned by that function. :-)

This should be marked as "Best Answer".

So now the absolute BEST thing you can do, is go play with some code to reinforce this new understanding of return statements....until you reach another point where you get stuck again!

Best way to learn in programming is playing with code. One thing is for sure, whether you are getting errors or your code is producing wrong results or they are producing the right ones. You are learning or reinforcing what you learned. So go play with return statements! :)

No problem, it would be hard to explain these differences out. But easier to physically show you.

Are you familiar with using Team Treehouse's Workspaces?

If so I threw together a workspace that you can fork then you can Preview it in your own.

After you have forked over to your Workspace and click Preview it should open index.php up like a webpage and show you what the functions are outputting.

Be sure to check the example_functions.php file. Even add your own functions or change mine and see what happens.

PHP Workspace

Keep these things in mind:

echo statement is for outputting something.

return statement is for "handing" back something to whatever called it.