What does the "!" symbol represent in PHP code, specifically in if statements?

The "!" symbol in PHP code represents the logical NOT operator, which negates the result of a condition. In if statements, the "!" symbol is used to check if a condition is false. This can be helpful when you want to execute a block of code if a certain condition is not met. Example:

// Check if a variable is not equal to a specific value
$number = 10;
if ($number != 5) {
    echo "The number is not equal to 5.";
}