4.4. HeredocIf you have a long string, you ought to consider using heredoc syntax. Put simply, heredoc allows you to define your own string delimiter so that you can make it something other than a double or single quote. So, for example, we could use the string EOT (end of text) for our delimiter, meaning that we can use double quotes and single quotes freely within the body of the textthe string only ends when we type EOT. It is a little more complicated than that in practice, but not muchthe string delimiter needs to be by itself on a line, in the very first column. That is, you cannot add spacing or tabs around it. Here is a working example: <?php $mystring = <<<EOT This is some PHP text. It is completely free I can use "double quotes" and 'single quotes', plus $variables too, which will be properly converted to their values, you can even type EOT, as long as it is not alone on a line, like this: EOT; ?> There are several things to note about heredoc and the example above:
Without heredoc syntax, complicated string assignments can become very messy. |