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PHP Object-Oriented PHP Basics (Retired) Properties and Methods Mid-Course Challenge

Josh Lee
Josh Lee
5,270 Points
Posted by Josh Lee
Josh Lee
5,270 Points

Why can't I use echo when adding a method to return a string?

This code challenge asked my to return a string that contained some variables about the object. I tried using echo and that didn't work. Instead, I had to use return. If the method is returning a string why isn't it ok to use echo? Is echo only ok to use when you specifically want to output HTML?

1 Answer

Ryan Field
PLUS
Ryan Field
Courses Plus Student 21,242 Points
Ryan Field
Ryan Field
Courses Plus Student 21,242 Points

I'm no PHP pro, but I believe that, yes, echoing is usually used for outputting HTML to the page. It can be used for things like echoing objects back to jQuery when using AJAX, though, so there are other uses. They may seem similar, but they have different uses; echoing outputs text, while returning passes along information that can be further processed before being output or sent to a database, etc.