PHP Data Types

Data types describe the kind of value a variable holds. PHP has several built-in types for different needs.

Main types

• string: text, like "hello"
• int: whole numbers, like 42
• float: decimal numbers, like 3.14
• bool: true or false
• array: a collection of values
• null: no value

<?php
$text = "hello";   // string
$count = 10;        // int
$price = 19.95;     // float
$active = true;     // bool
$items = [1, 2, 3]; // array
$empty = null;      // null

Checking a type

Use gettype() to get the type name as a string.

<?php
$value = 42;
echo gettype($value); // integer

Inspecting with var_dump

var_dump() shows the type and value, which is great for debugging.

<?php
var_dump(42);        // int(42)
var_dump("hi");      // string(2) "hi"
var_dump(true);      // bool(true)
var_dump([1, 2]);    // array(2) { ... }

Use var_dump whenever you need to know exactly what a variable contains.