## Execution Operators

PHP supports one execution operator: backticks (````). Note that these are not single-quotes! PHP will attempt to execute the contents of the backticks as a shell command; the output will be returned (i.e., it won't simply be dumped to output; it can be assigned to a variable). Use of the backtick operator is identical to shell_exec().

Example #1 Backtick Operator

`<?php
$output = `ls -al`;
echo "<pre>$output</pre>";
?>`

> Note:

> The backtick operator is disabled when shell_exec() is disabled.

> Note:

> Unlike some other languages, backticks have no special meaning within double-quoted strings.

### Changelog

Version | Description
--- | ---
8.5.0 | The backtick operator as an alias for shell_exec() has been deprecated.

### See Also

- Program Execution functions
- popen()
- proc_open()
- Using PHP from the commandline

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