How to query the result of rand in a php loop? - php

Question

I am beginning to learn PHP. Here I am trying to create a loop that checks whether a randomly generated number is 50. If the number is 50, I want to print "it's 50!", if not, I want to echo the result, then repeat the random generation.
Here is my code:
<?php
$number = 0; // sets the number to 0
while ($number != 50) { // I want this loop to repeat when the result isn't 50
echo $number; // print the result
$number = rand(0,100); // reshuffle
if ($number == 50) { // result for if 50 is the result
echo "it's 50!";
}
else { // result otherwise
$number = 0;
}
}
?>
I feel like it's not working because I don't redefine $number based on the result of the rand function, is this correct? If so, how do I redefine the value of the $number variable from within the loop?

Answer 1

The main issue with the code you have submitted is that, if your randomly picked number is not 50 you then assign 0 to it. So your output will be a stream of 0s.
You can modify your code slightly, and drop your else block:
<?php
$number = null;
while ($number != 50) {
$number = rand(0, 100);
echo $number . "\n";
if ($number == 50)
echo "It's 50!";
}
Or, just loop until you strike your number, then break out.
<?php
while (true) {
$number = rand(0, 100);
echo "$number\n";
if ($number == 50) {
echo "it's 50!\n";
break;
}
}
Or even simpler:
while (($number = rand(0, 100)) != 50)
echo "$number\n";
echo "It's 50!";