casting - How do I convert a string to a number in PHP?

Question

I want to convert these types of values, '3', '2.34', '0.234343', etc. to a number. In JavaScript we can use Number(), but is there any similar method available in PHP?

Input             Output
'2'               2
'2.34'            2.34
'0.3454545'       0.3454545

Answer 1

You don't typically need to do this, since PHP will coerce the type for you in most circumstances. For situations where you do want to explicitly convert the type, cast it:

$num = "3.14";
$int = (int)$num;
$float = (float)$num;