PHP: Using $count++ in an if condition

Question

I'm wondering if the $count++ way of incrementing a counter is okay to use in a conditional statement? Will the variable maintain it's new value?

$count = 0;
foreach ($things as $thing){
    if($count++ == 1) continue;
    ...
}

Solution 1

• $count++ is a post-increment. That means that it will increment after the evaluation.
• ++$count is a pre-increment. That means that it will increment before the evaluation.

http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.operators.increment.php

To answer your question, that is perfectly valid, just keep in check that your value will be 2 after the if has been done.

Solution 2

Yes, it will, but you want to pay attention to the difference between $count++(post-incrementation) and ++$count(pre-incrementation), or you might not get the results you expect.

For instance, the code snippet you wrote will "continue" on the second "$thing", but go through the loop on the first, because the value of $count won't be incremented until after its value is tested. If that's what you're going for, then right on, but it's one of those common "gotchas", so I thought I should mention it.

Comments

[Álvaro González]

I suppose you've tested it and found results you didn't understand. Can you share the details with us?

[gen_Eric]

This should work. $count++ will increment $count and return its original value.

[War10ck]

Just out of curiosity, shouldn't $count be 1 after the evaluation. It's 0 to begin with. Incrementing would give you 1 would it not? I may be missing something though.

[Jack]

@War10ck: No, the if will be true if $count is 1, but since it's a post-increment, AFTER the if is determined to be true, THEN $count will be incremented, so it will be 2. The first iteration through the loop will evaluate the conditional to be false.

[War10ck]

@GeminiDomino Ahhh, yes. Sorry that was a really dumb question. I see it now. Thanks buddy. Appreciate the explanation. :)

[Jack]

De nada. Pre/post-incrementation, I've learned, can be deceptively nuanced. :)