Using PHP is_int() Function to Check Integer Variables

PHP is a widely used scripting language for web development that provides many built‑in functions, including is_int(), which checks whether a variable is an integer and returns a boolean.

The syntax of is_int() is: bool is_int ( mixed $var ) The function accepts a single argument of any type and returns true if the argument is an integer, otherwise false.

Example 1 demonstrates three variables ($num1, $num2, $str) and uses var_dump(is_int(...)) to show the function returns true for the integer and false for a float and a string.

<?php
$num1 = 10; // integer
$num2 = 10.5; // float
$str = "10"; // string

var_dump(is_int($num1)); // bool(true)
var_dump(is_int($num2)); // bool(false)
var_dump(is_int($str)); // bool(false)
?>

Example 2 defines three variables ($var1, $var2, $var3) and uses if (is_int(...)) statements to echo messages indicating whether each variable is an integer.

<?php
$var1 = 123;
$var2 = "abc";
$var3 = true;

if (is_int($var1)) {
    echo "Variable 1 is an integer";
} else {
    echo "Variable 1 is not an integer";
}

if (is_int($var2)) {
    echo "Variable 2 is an integer";
} else {
    echo "Variable 2 is not an integer";
}

if (is_int($var3)) {
    echo "Variable 3 is an integer";
} else {
    echo "Variable 3 is not an integer";
}
?>

In summary, is_int() is a useful PHP function for quickly determining if a variable holds an integer, which helps developers handle different data types appropriately.