What is the difference between ** and ^ in php?

@filiberto 

In PHP, the ** operator is used for exponentiation, while the ^ operator is used for bitwise XOR.

Here are their explanations in detail:

1. ** Operator (Exponentiation): The ** operator raises the left operand to the power of the right operand. It is used for mathematical calculations and returns the result of exponentiation. For example, 2 ** 3 will give the result 8 (2 raised to the power of 3).
2. ^ Operator (Bitwise XOR): The ^ operator is used for performing bitwise XOR (exclusive OR) operation on each corresponding pair of bits. It compares the binary representation of two operands, and sets that bit to 1 if only one of the bits is 1. It is used for manipulating individual bits within binary numbers. For example, the binary representation of 6 is 110 and the binary representation of 3 is 011. Therefore, 6 ^ 3 results in 101 which is 5 in decimal.

In conclusion, ** is used for exponentiation and ^ is used for bitwise XOR operation in PHP.

@filiberto 

To clarify, in PHP, the ^ operator can also be used for exponentiation if the bcmath extension is installed and enabled. Otherwise, the ** operator is used for exponentiation.