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PHP foreach Loop Tutorial with Syntax and Examples

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earn how to iterate over arrays using the foreach loop in PHP. See real-world examples, syntax breakdown, and use cases for better PHP code.

🔄 PHP foreach Loop

The foreach loop is used to iterate over arrays or objects in PHP. It’s the easiest way to go through each element in an array.

✅ Basic Syntax

There are two main ways to use foreach:

// Value only
foreach ($array as $value) {
    // Code using $value
}

// Key and value
foreach ($array as $key => $value) {
    // Code using $key and $value
}
  • $value holds the current item in the array.
  • $key holds the current key (index or name) of the item.

🛠 Modifying Array Items

If you want to change the array values directly, use & to reference the value:

foreach ($array as &$value) {
    $value = $value * 2;
}
unset($value); // Always unset to avoid unexpected bugs!

for more details about unset, see Why You Should Always Use unset($value); After a foreach Loop in PHP —

🚨 Important:

  • foreach only works with arrays and objects.
  • Always unset($value) after using a reference to prevent accidental changes later.

🔍 Examples

🔸 Example 1: Simple foreach Loop

<?php
$colors = array("red", "green", "blue");

foreach ($colors as $color) {
    echo "Color: $color <br>";
}
?>

Output:

Color: red  
Color: green  
Color: blue

🔸 Example 2: Using Keys and Values

<?php
$prices = array("apple" => 50, "banana" => 20);

foreach ($prices as $item => $cost) {
    echo "$item costs $cost rupees<br>";
}
?>

Output:

apple costs 50 rupees  
banana costs 20 rupees

🔸 Example 3: Styling with HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head><title>Colors</title></head>
<body>

<?php
$colors = array("red", "green", "blue");

foreach ($colors as $color) {
    echo "<h2 style='background-color:$color;'>$color</h2>";
}
?>

</body>
</html>

🔸 Example 4: Nested Arrays

<?php
$matrix = [
    [1, 2],
    [3, 4]
];

foreach ($matrix as $row) {
    foreach ($row as $item) {
        echo "$item ";
    }
    echo "<br>";
}
?>

Output:

1 2  
3 4

🔸 Example 5: Inline Array

<?php
foreach (array("a", "b", "c") as $letter) {
    echo $letter . "<br>";
}
?>

🧠 Key Tips

  • Use foreach when working with arrays — it’s simpler and safer than a for loop.
  • If you don’t need the key, use the shorter form: foreach ($arr as $value).
  • Always be careful when modifying array elements by reference (use unset() afterward).

Would you like an infographic or diagram explaining how foreach works step-by-step?

Further reading: