PHP Program - Find Factorial of a Number

The factorial of a positive integer is the multiplication of all positive integer less than or equal to that number.

factorial of number n = n! = n(n-1)(n-2)...1

For Example:

5! = 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 120

4! = 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24

Example: Using Recursive method

In the below example, a recursive function called factorial() is used to calculate factorial of a number.

<?php

  function factorial($x) {
    if ($x == 0 || $x == 1)
      {return 1;}
    else 
      {return $x*factorial($x-1);}    
  }

  echo "10! =  ".factorial(10)."\n";
  echo "6! =  ".factorial(6)."\n";

?>

The above code will give the following output:

10! =  3628800
6! =  720

Example: Using Iterative method

The factorial of a number can also be calculated using iterative method.

<?php

  function factorial($x) {
    $finalnum = 1;
    for($i = $x; $i > 0; $i--)
    {
      $finalnum = $finalnum * $i;
    }
    return $finalnum;  
  }

  echo "10! =  ".factorial(10)."\n";
  echo "6! =  ".factorial(6)."\n";

?>

The above code will give the following output:

10! =  3628800
6! =  720

Example: Using Ternary Operator

In the below example, the factorial of a number is calculated using ternary operator.

<?php

  function factorial($x) {
    $y = ($x == 0 || $x == 1)? 1 : $x*factorial($x-1);
    return $y;  
  }

  echo "10! =  ".factorial(10)."\n";
  echo "6! =  ".factorial(6)."\n";

?>

The above code will give the following output:

10! =  3628800
6! =  720