Checking if a variable is an integer in PHP

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Using is_numeric() for checking if a variable is an integer is a bad idea. This function will return TRUE for 3.14 for example. It’s not the expected behavior.

To do this correctly, you can use one of these options:

Considering this variables array : 

$variables = [
    "TEST 0" => 0,
    "TEST 1" => 42,
    "TEST 2" => 4.2,
    "TEST 3" => .42,
    "TEST 4" => 42.,
    "TEST 5" => "42",
    "TEST 6" => "a42",
    "TEST 7" => "42a",
    "TEST 8" => 0x24,
    "TEST 9" => 1337e0
];

The first option (FILTER_VALIDATE_INT way) :

# Check if your variable is an integer
if ( filter_var($variable, FILTER_VALIDATE_INT) === false ) {
  echo "Your variable is not an integer";
}

Output :

TEST 0 : 0 (type:integer) is an integer ✔
TEST 1 : 42 (type:integer) is an integer ✔
TEST 2 : 4.2 (type:double) is not an integer ✘
TEST 3 : 0.42 (type:double) is not an integer ✘
TEST 4 : 42 (type:double) is an integer ✔
TEST 5 : 42 (type:string) is an integer ✔
TEST 6 : a42 (type:string) is not an integer ✘
TEST 7 : 42a (type:string) is not an integer ✘
TEST 8 : 36 (type:integer) is an integer ✔
TEST 9 : 1337 (type:double) is an integer ✔

The second option (CASTING COMPARISON way) :

# Check if your variable is an integer
if ( strval($variable) !== strval(intval($variable)) ) {
  echo "Your variable is not an integer";
}

Output :

TEST 0 : 0 (type:integer) is an integer ✔
TEST 1 : 42 (type:integer) is an integer ✔
TEST 2 : 4.2 (type:double) is not an integer ✘
TEST 3 : 0.42 (type:double) is not an integer ✘
TEST 4 : 42 (type:double) is an integer ✔
TEST 5 : 42 (type:string) is an integer ✔
TEST 6 : a42 (type:string) is not an integer ✘
TEST 7 : 42a (type:string) is not an integer ✘
TEST 8 : 36 (type:integer) is an integer ✔
TEST 9 : 1337 (type:double) is an integer ✔

The third option (CTYPE_DIGIT way) :

# Check if your variable is an integer
if ( ! ctype_digit(strval($variable)) ) {
  echo "Your variable is not an integer";
}

Output :

TEST 0 : 0 (type:integer) is an integer ✔
TEST 1 : 42 (type:integer) is an integer ✔
TEST 2 : 4.2 (type:double) is not an integer ✘
TEST 3 : 0.42 (type:double) is not an integer ✘
TEST 4 : 42 (type:double) is an integer ✔
TEST 5 : 42 (type:string) is an integer ✔
TEST 6 : a42 (type:string) is not an integer ✘
TEST 7 : 42a (type:string) is not an integer ✘
TEST 8 : 36 (type:integer) is an integer ✔
TEST 9 : 1337 (type:double) is an integer ✔

The fourth option (REGEX way) :

# Check if your variable is an integer
if ( ! preg_match('/^\d+$/', $variable) ) {
  echo "Your variable is not an integer";
}

Output :

TEST 0 : 0 (type:integer) is an integer ✔
TEST 1 : 42 (type:integer) is an integer ✔
TEST 2 : 4.2 (type:double) is not an integer ✘
TEST 3 : 0.42 (type:double) is not an integer ✘
TEST 4 : 42 (type:double) is an integer ✔
TEST 5 : 42 (type:string) is an integer ✔
TEST 6 : a42 (type:string) is not an integer ✘
TEST 7 : 42a (type:string) is not an integer ✘
TEST 8 : 36 (type:integer) is an integer ✔
TEST 9 : 1337 (type:double) is an integer ✔

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