gettype
Returns the type of the PHP variable value . For type checking, use is_* functions.
Parameters
The variable being type checked.
Return Values
Possible values for the returned string are:
- «boolean»
- «integer»
- «double» (for historical reasons «double» is returned in case of a float , and not simply «float» )
- «string»
- «array»
- «object»
- «resource»
- «resource (closed)» as of PHP 7.2.0
- «NULL»
- «unknown type»
Changelog
| Version | Description |
|---|---|
| 7.2.0 | Closed resources are now reported as ‘resource (closed)’ . Previously the returned value for closed resources were ‘unknown type’ . |
Examples
Example #1 gettype() example
$data = array( 1 , 1. , NULL , new stdClass , ‘foo’ );
foreach ( $data as $value ) echo gettype ( $value ), «\n» ;
>
The above example will output something similar to:
integer double NULL object string
See Also
- get_debug_type() — Gets the type name of a variable in a way that is suitable for debugging
- settype() — Set the type of a variable
- get_class() — Returns the name of the class of an object
- is_array() — Finds whether a variable is an array
- is_bool() — Finds out whether a variable is a boolean
- is_callable() — Verify that a value can be called as a function from the current scope.
- is_float() — Finds whether the type of a variable is float
- is_int() — Find whether the type of a variable is integer
- is_null() — Finds whether a variable is null
- is_numeric() — Finds whether a variable is a number or a numeric string
- is_object() — Finds whether a variable is an object
- is_resource() — Finds whether a variable is a resource
- is_scalar() — Finds whether a variable is a scalar
- is_string() — Find whether the type of a variable is string
- function_exists() — Return true if the given function has been defined
- method_exists() — Checks if the class method exists
gettype
Returns the type of the PHP variable value . For type checking, use is_* functions.
Parameters
The variable being type checked.
Return Values
- «boolean»
- «integer»
- «double» (for historical reasons «double» is returned in case of a float , and not simply «float» )
- «string»
- «array»
- «object»
- «resource»
- «resource (closed)» as of PHP 7.2.0
- «NULL»
- «unknown type»
Changelog
| Version | Description |
|---|---|
| 7.2.0 | Closed resources are now reported as ‘resource (closed)’ . Previously the returned value for closed resources were ‘unknown type’ . |
Examples
Example #1 gettype() example
$data = array( 1 , 1. , NULL , new stdClass , ‘foo’ );
foreach ( $data as $value ) echo gettype ( $value ), «\n» ;
>
The above example will output something similar to:
integer double NULL object string
See Also
- get_debug_type() — Gets the type name of a variable in a way that is suitable for debugging
- settype() — Set the type of a variable
- get_class() — Returns the name of the class of an object
- is_array() — Finds whether a variable is an array
- is_bool() — Finds out whether a variable is a boolean
- is_callable() — Verify that a value can be called as a function from the current scope.
- is_float() — Finds whether the type of a variable is float
- is_int() — Find whether the type of a variable is integer
- is_null() — Finds whether a variable is null
- is_numeric() — Finds whether a variable is a number or a numeric string
- is_object() — Finds whether a variable is an object
- is_resource() — Finds whether a variable is a resource
- is_scalar() — Finds whether a variable is a scalar
- is_string() — Find whether the type of a variable is string
- function_exists() — Return true if the given function has been defined
- method_exists() — Checks if the class method exists
User Contributed Notes 2 notes
Be careful comparing ReflectionParameter::getType() and gettype() as they will not return the same results for a given type.
string — string // OK
int — integer // Type mismatch
bool — boolean // Type mismatch
array — array // OK
Same as for «boolean» below, happens with integers. gettype() return «integer» yet proper type hint is «int».
If your project is PHP8+ then you should consider using get_debug_type() instead which seems to return proper types that match used for type hints.
Php get type as string
Cast a string to binary using PHP < 5.2.1
I found it tricky to check if a posted value was an integer.
is_int ( $_POST [ ‘a’ ] ); //false
is_int ( intval ( «anything» ) ); //always true
?>
A method I use for checking if a string represents an integer value.
$foo [ ‘ten’ ] = 10 ; // $foo[‘ten’] is an array holding an integer at key «ten»
$str = » $foo [ ‘ten’]» ; // throws T_ENCAPSED_AND_WHITESPACE error
$str = » $foo [ ten ] » ; // works because constants are skipped in quotes
$fst = (string) $foo [ ‘ten’ ]; // works with clear intention
?>
It seems (unset) is pretty useless. But for people who like to make their code really compact (and probably unreadable). You can use it to use an variable and unset it on the same line:
$hello = ‘Hello world’ ;
print $hello ;
unset( $hello );
$hello = ‘Hello world’ ;
$hello = (unset) print $hello ;
?>
Hoorah, we lost another line!
It would be useful to know the precedence (for lack of a better word) for type juggling. This entry currently explains that «if either operand is a float, then both operands are evaluated as floats, and the result will be a float» but could (and I think should) provide a hierarchy that indicates, for instance, «between an int and a boolean, int wins; between a float and an int, float wins; between a string and a float, string wins» and so on (and don’t count on my example accurately capturing the true hierarchy, as I haven’t actually done the tests to figure it out). Thanks!
May be expected, but not stated ..
Casting to the existing (same) type has no effect.
$t = ‘abc’; // string ‘abc’
$u=(array) $t; // array 0 => string ‘abc’ $v=(array) $u; // array 0 => string ‘abc’
Correct me if I’m wrong, but that is not a cast, it might be useful sometimes, but the IDE will not reflect what’s really happening:
class MyObject /**
* @param MyObject $object
* @return MyObject
*/
static public function cast ( MyObject $object ) return $object ;
>
/** Does nothing */
function f () <>
>
class X extends MyObject /** Throws exception */
function f () < throw new exception (); >
>
$x = MyObject :: cast (new X );
$x -> f (); // Your IDE tells ‘f() Does nothing’
?>
However, when you run the script, you will get an exception.
In my much of my coding I have found it necessary to type-cast between objects of different class types.
More specifically, I often want to take information from a database, convert it into the class it was before it was inserted, then have the ability to call its class functions as well.
The following code is much shorter than some of the previous examples and seems to suit my purposes. It also makes use of some regular expression matching rather than string position, replacing, etc. It takes an object ($obj) of any type and casts it to an new type ($class_type). Note that the new class type must exist:
Looks like type-casting user-defined objects is a real pain, and ya gotta be nuttin’ less than a brain jus ta cypher-it. But since PHP supports OOP, you can add the capabilities right now. Start with any simple class.
class Point protected $x , $y ;
public function __construct ( $xVal = 0 , $yVal = 0 ) $this -> x = $xVal ;
$this -> y = $yVal ;
>
public function getX () < return $this ->x ; >
public function getY () < return $this ->y ; >
>
$p = new Point ( 25 , 35 );
echo $p -> getX (); // 25
echo $p -> getY (); // 35
?>
Ok, now we need extra powers. PHP gives us several options:
A. We can tag on extra properties on-the-fly using everyday PHP syntax.
$p->z = 45; // here, $p is still an object of type [Point] but gains no capability, and it’s on a per-instance basis, blah.
B. We can try type-casting it to a different type to access more functions.
$p = (SuperDuperPoint) $p; // if this is even allowed, I doubt it. But even if PHP lets this slide, the small amount of data Point holds would probably not be enough for the extra functions to work anyway. And we still need the class def + all extra data. We should have just instantiated a [SuperDuperPoint] object to begin with. and just like above, this only works on a per-instance basis.
C. Do it the right way using OOP — and just extend the Point class already.
class Point3D extends Point protected $z ; // add extra properties.
public function __construct ( $xVal = 0 , $yVal = 0 , $zVal = 0 ) parent :: __construct ( $xVal , $yVal );
$this -> z = $zVal ;
>
public function getZ () < return $this ->z ; > // add extra functions.
>
$p3d = new Point3D ( 25 , 35 , 45 ); // more data, more functions, more everything.
echo $p3d -> getX (); // 25
echo $p3d -> getY (); // 35
echo $p3d -> getZ (); // 45
?>
Once the new class definition is written, you can make as many Point3D objects as you want. Each of them will have more data and functions already built-in. This is much better than trying to beef-up any «single lesser object» on-the-fly, and it’s way easier to do.
Re: the typecasting between classes post below. fantastic, but slightly flawed. Any class name longer than 9 characters becomes a problem. SO here’s a simple fix:
function typecast($old_object, $new_classname) if(class_exists($new_classname)) // Example serialized object segment
// O:5:»field»:9: $old_serialized_prefix = «O:».strlen(get_class($old_object));
$old_serialized_prefix .= «:\»».get_class($old_object).»\»:»;
$old_serialized_object = serialize($old_object);
$new_serialized_object = ‘O:’.strlen($new_classname).’:»‘.$new_classname . ‘»:’;
$new_serialized_object .= substr($old_serialized_object,strlen($old_serialized_prefix));
return unserialize($new_serialized_object);
>
else
return false;
>
Thanks for the previous code. Set me in the right direction to solving my typecasting problem. 😉
If you have a boolean, performing increments on it won’t do anything despite it being 1. This is a case where you have to use a cast.
I have 1 bar.
I now have 1 bar.
I finally have 2 bar.
Checking for strings to be integers?
How about if a string is a float?
/* checks if a string is an integer with possible whitespace before and/or after, and also isolates the integer */
$isInt = preg_match ( ‘/^\s*(4+)\s*$/’ , $myString , $myInt );
echo ‘Is Integer? ‘ , ( $isInt ) ? ‘Yes: ‘ . $myInt [ 1 ] : ‘No’ , «\n» ;
/* checks if a string is an integer with no whitespace before or after */
$isInt = preg_match ( ‘/^3+$/’ , $myString );
echo ‘Is Integer? ‘ , ( $isInt ) ? ‘Yes’ : ‘No’ , «\n» ;
/* When checking for floats, we assume the possibility of no decimals needed. If you MUST require decimals (forcing the user to type 7.0 for example) replace the sequence:
1+(\.4+)?
with
7+\.4+
*/
/* checks if a string is a float with possible whitespace before and/or after, and also isolates the number */
$isFloat = preg_match ( ‘/^\s*(4+(\.4+)?)\s*$/’ , $myString , $myNum );
echo ‘Is Number? ‘ , ( $isFloat ) ? ‘Yes: ‘ . $myNum [ 1 ] : ‘No’ , «\n» ;
/* checks if a string is a float with no whitespace before or after */
$isInt = preg_match ( ‘/^2+(\.2+)?$/’ , $myString );
echo ‘Is Number? ‘ , ( $isFloat ) ? ‘Yes’ : ‘No’ , «\n» ;
PHP gettype() Function
The gettype() function returns the type of a variable.
Syntax
Parameter Values
Technical Details
| Return Value: | The type as a string. Can be one of the following values: «boolean», «integer», «double», «string», «array», «object», «resource», «NULL», «unknown type» |
|---|---|
| Return Type: | String |
| PHP Version: | 4.0+ |
| PHP Changelog: | PHP 7.2: Closed resources are now returned as «resource (closed)». Earlier, the returned value was «unknown type». |
❮ PHP Variable Handling Reference
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