PHP Data Types
PHP data types are used to hold different types of data or values. PHP supports 8 primitive data types that can be categorized further into 3 types:
- Scalar Types (predefined)
- Compound Types (user-defined)
- Special Types
PHP Data Types: Scalar Types
It holds only a single value. There are 4 scalar data types in PHP.
PHP Data Types: Compound Types
It can hold multiple values. There are 2 compound data types in PHP.
PHP Data Types: Special Types
There are 2 special data types in PHP.
PHP Boolean
Booleans are the simplest data type that works like a switch. It holds only two values: TRUE (1) or FALSE (0). It is often used with conditional statements. If the condition is correct, it returns TRUE otherwise FALSE.
Example-
Output:
This condition is TRUE.
PHP Integer
Integer means numeric data with a negative or positive sign. It holds only whole numbers, i.e., numbers without fractional part or decimal points.
Rules for integer:
- An integer can be either positive or negative.
- An integer must not contain a decimal point.
- Integer can be decimal (base 10), octal (base 8), or hexadecimal (base 16).
- The range of an integer must be lie between 2,147,483,648 and 2,147,483,647 i.e., -2^31 to 2^31.
Example-
Output:
Decimal number: 34
Octal number: 163
HexaDecimal number: 69
PHP Float
A floating-point number is a number with a decimal point. Unlike integer, it can hold numbers with a fractional or decimal point, including a negative or positive sign.
Example-
Output:
Addition of floating numbers: 73.812
PHP String
A string is a non-numeric data type. It holds letters or any alphabets, numbers, and even special characters.
String values must be enclosed either within single quotes or in double-quotes. But both are treated differently. To clarify this, see the example below:
Example-
Output:
Hello Onlinequizstock
Hello $company
PHP Array
An array is a compound data type. It can store multiple values of the same data type in a single variable.
Example-
Output:
array(3) { [0]=> string(13) "Royal Enfield" [1]=> string(6) "Yamaha" [2]=> string(3) "KTM" }
Array Element1: Royal Enfield
Array Element2: Yamaha
Array Element3: KTM
You will learn more about array in later chapters of this tutorial.
PHP object
Objects are the instances of user-defined classes that can store both values and functions. They must be explicitly declared.
Example-
Output:
Bike Model: Royal Enfield
This is an advanced topic of PHP, which we will discuss later in detail.
PHP Resource
Resources are not the exact data type in PHP. Basically, these are used to store some function calls or references to external PHP resources. For example - a database call. It is an external resource.
This is an advanced topic of PHP, so we will discuss it later in detail with examples.
PHP Null
Null is a special data type that has only one value: NULL. There is a convention of writing it in capital letters as it is case sensitive.
The special type of data type NULL defined a variable with no value.
Example-
Output:
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