difference <?php echo '$test'; ?> and <?=$test?>

Question

What is the difference between

<?php echo '$test'; ?>

and

<?=$test?>

?

Answer 1

The former outputs the literal string $test and the latter outputs the value $test.

Answer 2

Assuming you really meant <?php echo $test; ?>, the two are effectively the same thing. The question is, how portable do you want to be. <?php ?> is supported just about anywhere that PHP is supported, however lots of admins disable <?= ?> syntax.