Using WHILE Loops as Counters - PHP

One of the most popular applications for WHILE loops is acting as a COUNTER. For example, say we want to generate 36 random numbers between 101 and 300. We will use a WHILE loop to count looping events until we've completed 36 of them.

This function is used as a random number function: echo mt_rand(101, 300). And we will use this basic loop as a counter:

<?php

$i=1;

while ($i<=36) {

echo $i++;

echo '<br />';

}

?>

Combine the random number generator function with a WHILE loop counter and we get:

<?php

$i=1;

while ($i<=30) {

echo mt_rand(101, 300);

$i++;

echo '<br />';

}

?>

Note that $i++ is not being output to HTML because it is only used as a counter. To label the generated random numbers in the form like this:

1.) 105

2.) 230

3.) 165

We will echo the “counter” beside the generated random number:

<?php

$i=1;

while ($i<=30) {

echo $i++.'.)'.'&nbsp;'.mt_rand(101, 300);

echo '<br />';

}

?>