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What is the difference between == and === in PHP ?

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In this article, we will discuss the differences between ‘==’ and ‘===’ operators in PHP. Both are comparison operators used to compare two or more values.

== Operator: This operator is used to check the given values are equal or not. If yes, it returns true, otherwise it returns false.

Syntax:

operand1 == operand2

=== Operator: This operator is used to check the given values and its data type are equal or not. If yes, then it returns true, otherwise it returns false.

 

Syntax:

operand1 === operand2

Note: === operator will return false when data types of operand are different.

Example 1: The following code demonstrates == operator with same and different data type operands.

PHP




<?php
  
$a = 34;
$b = 34;
  
// Show message if two operands are
// equal with same data type operands
if($a == $b) {
    echo "Equal";
}
else{
    echo "Not Equal";
}
  
echo "\n";
  
// Show a message if two operands are equal
// with different data type operands
// First is of string type and the second
// is of integer type
if('34' == 34){
    echo "Equal";
}
else{
    echo "Not Equal";
}
  
?>


Output:

Equal
Equal

Example 2: The following code demonstrates the === operator.

PHP




<?php
  
$a = 34;
$b = 34;
  
// Return a message if two operands are
// equal with same data type operands
if($a === $b){
    echo "Equal";
}
else{
    echo "not Equal";
}
  
echo "\n";
  
// Return a message if two operands are equal
// with different data type operands
// First is of string type and the second
// is if integer type
if('34' === 34){
    echo "Equal";
}
else{
    echo "not Equal";
}
  
?>


Output:

Equal
not Equal

Difference between  == and === operators:

                  ==                                       ===
    It is equal to operator.                     It is an identical operator.
It is used to check the equality of two operands. It is used to check the equality of both operands and their data type.


Last Updated : 18 Oct, 2021
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