Variables can be incremented or decremented by 1 with ++
or --
, respectively. They can either precede or succeed variables and slightly vary semantically, as shown below.
$i = 1;
echo $i; // Prints 1
// Pre-increment operator increments $i by one, then returns $i
echo ++$i; // Prints 2
// Pre-decrement operator decrements $i by one, then returns $i
echo --$i; // Prints 1
// Post-increment operator returns $i, then increments $i by one
echo $i++; // Prints 1 (but $i value is now 2)
// Post-decrement operator returns $i, then decrements $i by one
echo $i--; // Prints 2 (but $i value is now 1)
More information about incrementing and decrementing operators can be found in the official documentation.