PHP runtime type checking

Question

I am trying to figure out the order in which PHP check types/object during runtime. So I can become a better coder. Thanks

Which type do php check first. Does it validate if a object is Boolean first? null? array?

which faster:

if (ID != null)

if (ID !== false)

if (ID == 0)

simshaun · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-30 21:35:52Z

3

These are micro-optimizations. Your time would be spent better optimizing something else.

I'm not sure if there are any comparisons on this, but check out http://www.phpbench.com.

Also, you may take a look at http://php.net/manual/en/types.comparisons.php and http://php.net/manual/en/language.operators.precedence.php, although they do not give you benchmarks.

Again, your time would likely be spent better focusing on optimizing something else.

answered Aug 30, 2012 at 21:35

simshaun

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3 Comments

Mike Brant Over a year ago

I very much agree with the comment about this being a micro-optimization. I would also like to add that in terms of order of operation, I is unclear what you mean. Each action would take place in the order called in the script. The three conditionals you present each to different things. I think the most important thing to note is loose (i.e. == and !=) versus strict (=== & !==) comparisons can present totally different behavior (and in some cases unexpected behavior to those new to PHP). You should really study the difference there - it is much more important than which is faster.

James Over a year ago

@Mike, I know in python the compiler always check if the object is type bool first. For example, if None: is a slower than if False: my question is do php do the samething?

James Over a year ago

@simshaun I want micro-optimization my code. If I know which way is better, I will adopt it into my coding practices. As a result, I can write optimized code all the time.

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