What is the purpose of using the return statement in PHP functions?

The return statement in PHP functions is used to specify the value that the function should output or return back to the code that called it. This allows functions to perform a specific task or calculation and then pass the result back to the calling code for further processing or use. Without a return statement, a function may perform its task but not provide any output or result to the rest of the program. 

function addNumbers($num1, $num2) {
    $sum = $num1 + $num2;
    return $sum;
}

$result = addNumbers(5, 3);
echo $result; // Output: 8

Keywords

return statement PHP functions purpose data output

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