Using PHP intval() to Convert Variables to Integers

In PHP, variable types are dynamic, but you can explicitly convert a value to an integer using the built‑in intval() function.

The syntax is intval($value, $base), where $value is the variable to convert and $base (optional) specifies the numeral system, defaulting to base 10.

Example 1: Converting strings to integers

$num1 = "10";
$num2 = "20.5";
$num3 = "abc";

$int1 = intval($num1);
$int2 = intval($num2);
$int3 = intval($num3);

echo $int1; // 10
echo $int2; // 20
echo $int3; // 0

This shows that numeric strings are converted to their integer values, while non‑numeric strings result in 0.

Example 2: Converting floating‑point numbers to integers

$num1 = 10.5;
$num2 = 20.8;

$int1 = intval($num1);
$int2 = intval($num2);

echo $int1; // 10
echo $int2; // 20

Floating‑point numbers are truncated, keeping only the integer part.

Example 3: Specifying the conversion base

$hex = "0x1A";   // hexadecimal, equals 26 decimal
$binary = "1100"; // binary, equals 12 decimal

$int1 = intval($hex, 16);
$int2 = intval($binary, 2);

echo $int1; // 26
echo $int2; // 12

By providing the second argument, intval() interprets the string in the given base and returns the corresponding decimal integer.

In summary, intval() converts various variable types to integers, returns 0 when conversion fails, and can handle different numeral bases when the optional base parameter is supplied.