Is it possible to use ternary operators in a for loop in PHP?

Question

I am creating a simple one-page web page and wish to use a for loop to output the navigation links. I am having an issue in pairing the stage number ($x) to a string.

The final output is expected to be/should be:

Stage 1, Victoria Bridge, Leeds
Stage 2, Second Stage Location
Stage 3, Third Stage Location
Stage 4, Any Other
Stage 5, Any Other

However, the output is

Stage 1, Third Stage Location
Stage 2, Third Stage Location
Stage 3, Third Stage Location
Stage 4, Any Other
Stage 5, Any Other

And I am not too sure where I have gone wrong.

I have tried using if/else statements as shown below.

<!-- vertical nav -->
      <nav class="v-nav p-4">
        <p class="title">Stage</p>
        <ul>
          <?php

          for ($x = 1; $x <= 21; $x++) {

            if ($x = 1) {
              $place = 'Victoria Bridge, Leeds';
            } else if ($x = 2) {
              $place = 'Victoria Bridge 2, Leeds';
            } else {
              $place = 'test'
            }

          ?>
            <li>
              <a href="#stage<?php echo $x ?>" data-number="<?php echo $x ?>">
                <span class="label">Stage <?php echo $x ?> - <?php echo $place ?></span>
                <span class="dot"></span>
              </a>
            </li>
          <?php } ?>
        </ul>
      </nav>

It caused $x to repeat past 21 times for some reason and prevent the load of all the other page elements. Below is what I currently have using ternary operators and can't seem to figure out where the flaw is.

<!-- vertical nav -->
      <nav class="v-nav p-4">
        <p class="title">Stage</p>
        <ul>
          <?php for ($x = 1; $x <= 21; $x++) { ?>
            <li>
              <a href="#stage<?php echo $x ?>" data-number="<?php echo $x ?>">
                <span class="label">
                  <?php
                    $navLink = 'Stage '.$x.', '.(
                      $x == 1 ? 'Victoria Bridge, Leeds' :
                      $x == 2 ? 'Second Stage Location' :
                      $x == 3 ? 'Third Stage Location' : 'Any Other');
                    echo $navLink;
                  ?>
                </span>
                <span class="dot"></span>
              </a>
            </li>
          <?php } ?>
        </ul>
      </nav>

Kind Regards

In your first set of code `if ($x = 1)` is assigning 1 and not testing equal to 1. — Nigel Ren, Apr 24 '19 at 09:54
Also, for nested ternary operators you really need brackets. — Jonnix, Apr 24 '19 at 09:55
Better still, use a `switch` rather than multiple conditions. — Qirel, Apr 24 '19 at 09:56
Or put your stages in an array using the stage as the key and the text as the value... — jeroen, Apr 24 '19 at 10:06

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 24 '19 at 09:55

The problem is with the operator in your if,

You are using = instead of ==

Use this instead :

<!-- vertical nav -->
      <nav class="v-nav p-4">
        <p class="title">Stage</p>
        <ul>
          <?php

          for ($x = 1; $x <= 21; $x++) {

            if ($x == 1) {
              $place = 'Victoria Bridge, Leeds';
            } else if ($x == 2) {
              $place = 'Victoria Bridge 2, Leeds';
            } else {
              $place = 'test'
            }

          ?>
            <li>
              <a href="#stage<?php echo $x ?>" data-number="<?php echo $x ?>">
                <span class="label">Stage <?php echo $x ?> - <?php echo $place ?></span>
                <span class="dot"></span>
              </a>
            </li>
          <?php } ?>
        </ul>
      </nav>

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 24 '19 at 10:01

For first one operator comparison was wrong use == instead of =

if ($x == 1) {
          $place = 'Victoria Bridge, Leeds';
        } else if ($x == 2) {
          $place = 'Victoria Bridge 2, Leeds';
        } else {
          $place = 'test'
        }

And For Ternary operator use correct brackets open and close respectively

Sanbox link

for ($x = 1; $x <= 21; $x++) {
            $place  = ($x == 1 ?'Victoria Bridge, Leeds' :
               ($x == 2 ? 'Second Stage Location' :
                ($x == 3 ? 'Third Stage Location' : 'Any Other')
               )
            );
         echo $place.'<br>';
     }

Is it possible to use ternary operators in a for loop in PHP?

2 Answers2