How to Convert a String to a Number in PHP

Minahil Noor Feb 02, 2024 PHP PHP String PHP Number
  1. Use Explicit Type Casting to Convert a String to a Number in PHP
  2. Use intval() Function to Convert a String to a Number in PHP
  3. Use settype() Function to Convert a String to a Number in PHP
How to Convert a String to a Number in PHP

In this article, we will introduce methods to convert a string to a number in PHP.

  • Using explicit type casting
  • Using intval()/floatval() function
  • Using settype() function

Use Explicit Type Casting to Convert a String to a Number in PHP

Explicit type casting converts a variable of any type to a variable of the required type. It converts a variable to primitive data types. The correct syntax to explicitly typecast a variable to an int or a float is as follows

$variableName = (int)$stringName
$variableName = (float)$stringName

The variable $variableName is the integer variable to hold the value of the number. The variable $stringName is the numeric string. We can also convert non-numeric strings to a number.

<?php  
$variable = "10";
$integer = (int)$variable;
echo "The variable $variable has converted to a number and its value is $integer.";  
echo "\n";

$variable = "8.1";
$float = (float)$variable;
echo "The variable $variable has converted to a number and its value is $float.";  
?>

Output:

The variable 10 has converted to a number and its value is 10.
The variable 8.1 has converted to a number and its value is 8.1.

For non-numeric string, we will get a 0 as the output.

<?php  
$variable = "abc";
$integer = (int)$variable;
echo "The variable has converted to a number and its value is $integer.";  
?>

Output:

The variable has converted to a number and its value is 0.

Use intval() Function to Convert a String to a Number in PHP

The intval() function converts a string to an int.

The floatval() function converts a string to a float.

The parameter that those functions accept is a string and the return value is an integer or a floating number respectively.

intval( $StringName );

The variable StringName holds the value of the string.

<?php  
$variable = "53";
$integer = intval($variable);
echo "The variable $variable has converted to a number and its value is $integer.";  
echo "\n";

$variable = "25.3";
$float = floatval($variable);
echo "The variable $variable has converted to a number and its value is $float.";  
?>

Output:

The variable 53 has converted to a number and its value is 53.
The variable 25.3 has converted to a number and its value is 25.3.

It the given string is a mixture of the number and string representation, like 2020Time, intval() will return 2020. But if the given string doesn’t start with a number then it returns 0. So is the floatval() method.

Example Codes:

<?php  
$variable = "2020Time";
$integer = intval($variable);
echo "The variable $variable has converted to a number and its value is $integer.";  
echo "\n";

$variable = "Time2020";
$integer = intval($variable);
echo "The variable $variable has converted to a number and its value is $integer.";  
echo "\n";

$variable = "25.3Time";
$float = floatval($variable);
echo "The variable $variable has converted to a number and its value is $float.";  
echo "\n";

$variable = "Time25.3";
$float = floatval($variable);
echo "The variable $variable has converted to a number and its value is $float.";  
?>

Output:

The variable 2020Time has converted to a number and its value is 2020.
The variable Time2020 has converted to a number and its value is 0.
The variable 25.3Time has converted to a number and its value is 25.3.
The variable Time25.3 has converted to a number and its value is 0.

Use settype() Function to Convert a String to a Number in PHP

The settype() function converts the variable of any datatype to a particular datatype. It accepts two parameters, the variable and the type name.

settype($variableName, "typeName");

The $variableName is the variable of any datatype that we want to convert to a number. The "typeName" contains the name of the datatype that we want for our $variableName variable.

<?php  
$variable = "45";
settype($variable, "integer");
echo "The variable has converted to a number and its value is $variable.";  
?>

The settype() function has set the type of $variable from string to integer. It is only suitable for primitive datatypes.

Output:

The variable has converted to a number and its value is 45.
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