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Mellonfire PHP Var Test Funcs

Php variables and functions

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68 views4 pages

Mellonfire PHP Var Test Funcs

Php variables and functions

Uploaded by

parama777
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Determine class type with these 10 PHP

variable testing functions

Version 1.0
July 28, 2006

By Melonfire

Takeaway
This document outlines the more useful functions available in a toolkit of PHP functions designed specifically to
test variables and find out if they belong to a particular character class.

Testing functions
Unlike many of its counterparts, PHP is not a strictly typed language. Essentially, this means that a developer
doesn't need to explicitly set the type (number, string, Boolean) of a variable before using it. Instead, the PHP
interpreter automatically detects variable type based on the information stored within a variable.
While this makes programming in PHP very easy, it does have an important drawback: when you do actually
need to test a variable's type, a loosely typed language can be somewhat confusing to deal with. Luckily, the
developers of PHP knew this and therefore included a toolkit of functions designed specifically to test variables
and find out if they belong to a particular character class - that is, whether they contains strings, integers, objects
or Booleans.
Table A outlines the more useful functions available in this category and provides explanations and usage
examples.

Page 1
Copyright 2006 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.
For more downloads and a free TechRepublic membership, please visit http://techrepublic.com.com/2001-6240-0.html

Determine class type with these 10 PHP variable testing functions

Table A
Function
empty($var)

Explanation
This function is used to check if a
variable is empty (no value or a
zero value)
Use this function to check user
input -- for example, form
variables -- to ensure that they
contain valid data.

gettype($var)

This function returns the type of a


variable - for example, "string",
"integer", "Boolean", "float" etc.
Use this function to verify that
variables are of the type you
expect, usually before inserting
them into a strictly-typed database
field.

is_bool($var)

This function tests a variable to


see if it contains a Boolean
(true/false) value
Use this function to check if a
variable is a Boolean variable.

is_string($var)

This function tests a variable to


see if it is a string.
Use this function to check if a
variable holds string data.

Example
<?php
// returns false
$var = "hello";
echo empty($var) ? "true" :
"false";
// returns true
$var = 0000;
echo empty($var) ? "true" :
"false";
?>
<?php
// returns string
$var = "hello";
echo gettype($var);
// returns double
$var = 1000.56;
echo gettype($var);
?>
<?php
// returns true
$var = false;
echo is_bool($var) ? "true" :
"false";
?>
<?php
// returns true
$var = "exception";
echo is_string($var) ? "true" :
"false";
// returns true
$var = "88408";
echo is_string($var) ? "true" :
"false";
?>

is_numeric($var)

This function tests a variable to


see if it contains a number or
numeric string (strings containing
a sign, numbers and decimal
points).

<?php
// returns true
$var = "+99.766";
echo is_numeric($var) ? "true" :
"false";

Use this function to verify that a


variable contains a number,
usually before using it in a
calculation.

// returns false
$var = "b00";
echo is_numeric($var) ? "true" :
"false";
?>

Page 2
Copyright 2006 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.
For more downloads and a free TechRepublic membership, please visit http://techrepublic.com.com/2001-6240-0.html

Determine class type with these 10 PHP variable testing functions

Function
is_array($var)

Explanation
This function tests a variable to
see if it is a PHP associative or
numerically-indexed array.
Use this function to check if a
variable is an array, usually prior
to processing it in a loop.

Example
<?php
// returns true
$var = array("tiger", "lion",
"zebra");
echo is_array($var) ? "true" :
"false";
// returns false
$var = "zebra";
echo is_array($var) ? "true" :
"false";
?>

is_null($var)

This function tests a variable to


see if it is NULL.
Use this function to verify if a
variable is NULL or not, usually
when evaluating data returned by
an SQL query.

is_object($var)

This function tests a variable to


see if it is a PHP object.
Use this function to test if a
variable is a PHP object, usually
before calling a method or
accessing a property.

isset($var)

This function tests a variable to


see if it has already been defined.
Use this function to test if a
variable has been defined, usually
when evaluating the results of a
form submission.

print_r($var)

This function prints the contents of


a variable.
Use this function to "look inside" a
variable, typically when debugging
a script.

<?php
// returns false
$var = "aa";
echo is_null($var) ? "true" :
"false";
// returns true
$var = null;
echo is_null($var) ? "true" :
"false";
?>
<?php
// returns false
$var = "exception";
echo is_object($var) ? "true" :
"false";
// returns true
$var = new Exception;
echo is_object($var) ? "true" :
"false";
?>
<?php
// returns true
$var = "yes";
echo isset($var) ? "true" :
"false";
// returns false
echo isset($test) ? "true" :
"false";
?>
<?php
$var = array("one", "two",
array("red", "green"), new
Exception, 467);
print_r($var);
?>

Page 3
Copyright 2006 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.
For more downloads and a free TechRepublic membership, please visit http://techrepublic.com.com/2001-6240-0.html

Determine class type with these 10 PHP variable testing functions

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Version history
Version: 1.0
Published: July 28, 2006

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