The PHP “heredoc” Syntax
Last Updated on: September 15, 2022
An excellent alternative method to assigning string variables is to use the heredoc syntax.
If you are assigning long strings of text with characters that need escaping, try this:
$string = <<<EOT
This text has 'quote' "marks" that don't need escaping and
new lines will be saved.
EOT;To me, it looks a bit messy at first, but it does make large chunks of text more readable in your code. Consider this alternative to the above:
$string = "This text as 'quote' /"marks/" that do need /"lots/ of escaping and\nnew lines need representing";heredoc syntax will also parse variables, so this is perfectly valid:
$monkeyName = 'Fred';
$string = <<<EOT
I have a cute pet monkey called $monkeyName.
EOT;
echo $string; // I have a cute pet monkey called Fred.Give the heredoc syntax a try… it’s not for everyone, but it does have it’s uses.
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The code in the example doesn’t work for me. Try this instead. 🙂
$longString = <<<EOT
Here’s a better version that works!
EOT;