Comparison Operators

Contents

Comparison operators, as their name implies, allow you to compare two values. You may also be interested in viewing the type comparison tables, as they show examples of various type related comparisons.

**Comparison Operators**
Example	Name	Result
$a == $b	Equal	`TRUE` if `$a` is equal to `$b` after type juggling.
$a === $b	Identical	`TRUE` if `$a` is equal to `$b`, and they are of the same type.
$a != $b	Not equal	`TRUE` if `$a` is not equal to `$b` after type juggling.
$a <> $b	Not equal	`TRUE` if `$a` is not equal to `$b` after type juggling.
$a !== $b	Not identical	`TRUE` if `$a` is not equal to `$b`, or they are not of the same type.
$a < $b	Less than	`TRUE` if `$a` is strictly less than `$b`.
$a > $b	Greater than	`TRUE` if `$a` is strictly greater than `$b`.
$a <= $b	Less than or equal to	`TRUE` if `$a` is less than or equal to `$b`.
$a >= $b	Greater than or equal to	`TRUE` if `$a` is greater than or equal to `$b`.
$a <=> $b	Spaceship	An integer less than, equal to, or greater than zero when `$a` is respectively less than, equal to, or greater than `$b`. Available as of PHP 7.

If you compare a number with a string or the comparison involves numerical strings, then each string is converted to a number and the comparison performed numerically. These rules also apply to the switch statement. The type conversion does not take place when the comparison is === or !== as this involves comparing the type as well as the value.


<?php
var_dump(0 == "a"); // 0 == 0 -> true
var_dump("1" == "01"); // 1 == 1 -> true
var_dump("10" == "1e1"); // 10 == 10 -> true
var_dump(100 == "1e2"); // 100 == 100 -> true

switch ("a") {
case 0:
    echo "0";
    break;
case "a": // never reached because "a" is already matched with 0
    echo "a";
    break;
}
?>


<?php  
// Integers
echo 1 <=> 1; // 0
echo 1 <=> 2; // -1
echo 2 <=> 1; // 1
 
// Floats
echo 1.5 <=> 1.5; // 0
echo 1.5 <=> 2.5; // -1
echo 2.5 <=> 1.5; // 1
 
// Strings
echo "a" <=> "a"; // 0
echo "a" <=> "b"; // -1
echo "b" <=> "a"; // 1
 
echo "a" <=> "aa"; // -1
echo "zz" <=> "aa"; // 1
 
// Arrays
echo [] <=> []; // 0
echo [1, 2, 3] <=> [1, 2, 3]; // 0
echo [1, 2, 3] <=> []; // 1
echo [1, 2, 3] <=> [1, 2, 1]; // 1
echo [1, 2, 3] <=> [1, 2, 4]; // -1
 
// Objects
$a = (object) ["a" => "b"]; 
$b = (object) ["a" => "b"]; 
echo $a <=> $b; // 0
 
$a = (object) ["a" => "b"]; 
$b = (object) ["a" => "c"]; 
echo $a <=> $b; // -1
 
$a = (object) ["a" => "c"]; 
$b = (object) ["a" => "b"]; 
echo $a <=> $b; // 1
 
// not only values are compared; keys must match
$a = (object) ["a" => "b"]; 
$b = (object) ["b" => "b"]; 
echo $a <=> $b; // 1

?>

For various types, comparison is done according to the following table (in order).

**Comparison with Various Types**
Type of Operand 1	Type of Operand 2	Result
null or string	string	Convert `NULL` to "", numerical or lexical comparison
bool or null	anything	Convert both sides to bool, `FALSE` < `TRUE`
object	object	Built-in classes can define its own comparison, different classes are uncomparable, same class see Object Comparison
string, resource or number	string, resource or number	Translate strings and resources to numbers, usual math
array	array	Array with fewer members is smaller, if key from operand 1 is not found in operand 2 then arrays are uncomparable, otherwise - compare value by value (see following example)
object	anything	object is always greater
array	anything	array is always greater

Example #1 Boolean/null comparison


<?php
// Bool and null are compared as bool always
var_dump(1 == TRUE);  // TRUE - same as (bool)1 == TRUE
var_dump(0 == FALSE); // TRUE - same as (bool)0 == FALSE
var_dump(100 < TRUE); // FALSE - same as (bool)100 < TRUE
var_dump(-10 < FALSE);// FALSE - same as (bool)-10 < FALSE
var_dump(min(-100, -10, NULL, 10, 100)); // NULL - (bool)NULL < (bool)-100 is FALSE < TRUE
?>

Example #2 Transcription of standard array comparison


<?php
// Arrays are compared like this with standard comparison operators
function standard_array_compare($op1, $op2)
{
    if (count($op1) < count($op2)) {
        return -1; // $op1 < $op2
    } elseif (count($op1) > count($op2)) {
        return 1; // $op1 > $op2
    }
    foreach ($op1 as $key => $val) {
        if (!array_key_exists($key, $op2)) {
            return null; // uncomparable
        } elseif ($val < $op2[$key]) {
            return -1;
        } elseif ($val > $op2[$key]) {
            return 1;
        }
    }
    return 0; // $op1 == $op2
}
?>

See also strcasecmp(), strcmp(), Array operators, and the manual section on Types.

Warning

Comparison of floating point numbers

Because of the way floats are represented internally, you should not test two floats for equality.

See the documentation for float for more information.

PHP: Comparison Operators - Manual Home of Manuel PHP Contents Haut

Ternary Operator

Another conditional operator is the "?:" (or ternary) operator.

Example #3 Assigning a default value


<?php
// Example usage for: Ternary Operator
$action = (empty($_POST['action'])) ? 'default' : $_POST['action'];

// The above is identical to this if/else statement
if (empty($_POST['action'])) {
    $action = 'default';
} else {
    $action = $_POST['action'];
}

?>

The expression (expr1) ? (expr2) : (expr3) evaluates to expr2 if expr1 evaluates to TRUE, and expr3 if expr1 evaluates to FALSE.

Since PHP 5.3, it is possible to leave out the middle part of the ternary operator. Expression expr1 ?: expr3 returns expr1 if expr1 evaluates to TRUE, and expr3 otherwise.

Note: Please note that the ternary operator is an expression, and that it doesn't evaluate to a variable, but to the result of an expression. This is important to know if you want to return a variable by reference. The statement return $var == 42 ? $a : $b; in a return-by-reference function will therefore not work and a warning is issued.

Note:
It is recommended that you avoid "stacking" ternary expressions. PHP's behaviour when using more than one ternary operator within a single statement is non-obvious:

Example #4 Non-obvious Ternary Behaviour

<?php // on first glance, the following appears to output 'true' echo (true?'true':false?'t':'f'); // however, the actual output of the above is 't' // this is because ternary expressions are evaluated from left to right // the following is a more obvious version of the same code as above echo ((true ? 'true' : false) ? 't' : 'f'); // here, you can see that the first expression is evaluated to 'true', which // in turn evaluates to (bool)true, thus returning the true branch of the // second ternary expression. ?>

PHP: Comparison Operators - Manual Home of Manuel PHP Contents Haut

Null Coalescing Operator

Further exists the "??" (or null coalescing) operator, available as of PHP 7.

Example #5 Assigning a default value


<?php
// Example usage for: Null Coalesce Operator
$action = $_POST['action'] ?? 'default';

// The above is identical to this if/else statement
if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
    $action = $_POST['action'];
} else {
    $action = 'default';
}

?>

The expression (expr1) ?? (expr2) evaluates to expr2 if expr1 is NULL, and expr1 otherwise.

In particular, this operator does not emit a notice if the left-hand side value does not exist, just like isset(). This is especially useful on array keys.

Note: Please note that the null coalescing operator is an expression, and that it doesn't evaluate to a variable, but to the result of an expression. This is important to know if you want to return a variable by reference. The statement return $foo ?? $bar; in a return-by-reference function will therefore not work and a warning is issued.

Note:
Please note that the null coalescing operator allows for simple nesting:

Example #6 Nesting null coalescing operator

<?php $foo = null; $bar = null; $baz = 1; $qux = 2; echo $foo ?? $bar ?? $baz ?? $qux; // outputs 1 ?>

Find a PHP function

English translation

You have asked to visit this site in English. For now, only the interface is translated, but not all the content yet.

If you want to help me in translations, your contribution is welcome. All you need to do is register on the site, and send me a message asking me to add you to the group of translators, which will give you the opportunity to translate the pages you want. A link at the bottom of each translated page indicates that you are the translator, and has a link to your profile.

Thank you in advance.

Document created the 30/01/2003, last modified the 26/10/2018
Source of the printed document:https://www.gaudry.be/en/php-rf-language.operators.comparison.html

The infobrol is a personal site whose content is my sole responsibility. The text is available under CreativeCommons license (BY-NC-SA). More info on the terms of use and the author.

References

Manuel PHP : http://php.net

These references and links indicate documents consulted during the writing of this page, or which may provide additional information, but the authors of these sources can not be held responsible for the content of this page.
The author This site is solely responsible for the way in which the various concepts, and the freedoms that are taken with the reference works, are presented here. Remember that you must cross multiple source information to reduce the risk of errors.

Contents Haut