While performing any operation PHP will try to cast variables to the appropriate data type as per the operation requirement. But sometimes we need to do it explicitly.
Let’s see how we can cast/convert one data type to another data type in PHP. We can as one data type to another using one of the following-
- Casting operator: prefix the variable with the data type(we want to cast to) in parentheses.
- Functions for casting: specific function used for type casting.
| Convert to Type | Casting Operator | Casting Function |
|---|---|---|
| boolean | (bool) | boolval() |
| Integer | (int) | intval() |
| Float | (float) | floatval() |
| String | (string) | strval() |
| Array | (array) | |
| Object | (object) |
NOTES
Both of these casting processes(casting operator and casting functions) will give the same result.
Here is quick look on how to use type casting in PHP-
<?php
$bigBoxVal = "99";
$intValue = (int) $bigBoxVal;
var_dump($intValue);
$bigBoxVal = 1;
$boolValue = (bool) $bigBoxVal;
var_dump($boolValue);
$bigBoxVal = "3.1416";
$floatValue = (float) $bigBoxVal;
var_dump($floatValue);
$bigBoxVal = 123;
$stringValue = (string) $bigBoxVal;
var_dump($stringValue);
$bigBoxVal = "BigBoxCode";
$arrayValue = (array) $bigBoxVal;
print_r($arrayValue);
$bigBoxVal = ['name' => 'BigBoxCode'];
$objectValue = (object) $bigBoxVal;
var_dump($objectValue);
Output:
int(99)
bool(true)
float(3.1416)
string(3) "123"
Array
(
[0] => BigBoxCode
)
object(stdClass)#1 (1) {
["name"]=>
string(10) "BigBoxCode"
}