Type casting syntax in PHP - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Type Casting Syntax in PHP

📖 Scenario: You are working on a simple PHP script that needs to convert different types of data into integers. This is common when you get input as strings but need numbers to do calculations.

🎯 Goal: Learn how to use type casting syntax in PHP to convert strings and floats into integers.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create variables with string and float values

Create a variable to hold the integer cast of the string

Create a variable to hold the integer cast of the float

Print the integer values

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Type casting is useful when you get input as text but need numbers to do math or comparisons.

💼 Career

Many programming jobs require handling data conversions safely and correctly, especially in web development with PHP.

1

Create initial variables

Create a variable called $strNumber and set it to the string "123.45". Also create a variable called $floatNumber and set it to the float 67.89.

PHP

$strNumber = "123.45";
$floatNumber = 67.89;
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use = to assign values to variables. Strings go inside quotes.

2

Add integer type casting variables

Create a variable called $intFromStr and set it to the integer cast of $strNumber using (int) type casting. Also create a variable called $intFromFloat and set it to the integer cast of $floatNumber using (int).

PHP

$strNumber = "123.45";
$floatNumber = 67.89;
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use (int) before a variable to convert it to an integer.

3

Use a loop to print variable types and values

Use a foreach loop with variables $name and $value to iterate over an array with keys 'intFromStr' and 'intFromFloat' and their corresponding values. Inside the loop, print the variable name, its type using gettype(), and its value.

PHP

$strNumber = "123.45";
$floatNumber = 67.89;
$intFromStr = (int)$strNumber;
$intFromFloat = (int)$floatNumber;
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use foreach to loop over arrays. Use gettype() to find the type of a variable.

4

Print the final output

Run the program to print the type and value of $intFromStr and $intFromFloat variables.

PHP

$strNumber = "123.45";
$floatNumber = 67.89;
$intFromStr = (int)$strNumber;
$intFromFloat = (int)$floatNumber;
$variables = ['intFromStr' => $intFromStr, 'intFromFloat' => $intFromFloat];
foreach ($variables as $name => $value) {
    echo "$name is of type " . gettype($value) . " and has value $value\n";
}
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Make sure your echo statements print the exact text with new lines.