PHP HTML Generation - Using String Concatenation

Question

The question is about various methods for outputting html from PHP; what are the differences in performance between them:

Method 1 - Concatenate Variables

$html = '';
$html .= '<ul>';
for ($k = 1; $k < = 1000; $k++){
    $html .= '<li> This is list item #'.$k.'</li>';
}
$html .= '</ul>';
echo $html;

Method 2 - output buffering

ob_start();
echo '<ul>';
for ($k = 1; $k < = 1000; $k++){
    echo '<li> This is list item #',$k,'</li>';
}
echo '</ul>';

I suspect you are getting some performance hit from constantly modifying and increasing the variable; it is right?

Hooray!

Thanks to GaryF, but I don't need an answer about architecture - this question is about performance. It seems that there are several different opinions / tests that go faster, so there is no answer yet.

Answer 1

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Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

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Answer 5

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sidenote: stringbuilder (untested):

$html = array();
$html[] = '<ul>';
for ($k = 1; $k < = 1000; $k++){
    $html[] = '<li> This is list item #';
    $html[] = $k;
    $html[] = '</li>';
}
$html[] = '</ul>';
echo implode('',$html);

Answer 6

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Answer 7

: php: output [] w/join vs $output. =

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I have not tested the echo and string construction, but until you use a buffered output echo it should be the fastest due to sequential write to a self-cleaning buffer. (only slowdown occurs in a flash, which you really cannot avoid, even if you perform string concatenation in advance)

Answer 8

Something I did not mention is that, as a rule, the PHP guy should work with people who plan to create HTML classes or add styles in another way, so the solution should keep this in mind.