## Which Method is the Fastest for String to Integer Conversion in PHP?

Fastest Method to Convert String to Integer in PHP

PHP provides various ways to convert a string to an integer, but which one is the most efficient? This article compares the performance of three common methods:

Benchmark Results:

A quick benchmarking revealed that the following methods exhibit noticeable differences in execution time:

Method               Execution Time (μs)
(int) "123"          550.3
intval("123")        1,011.5

Why (int) is Faster:

Calling (int) directly outperforms intval() because it avoids an unnecessary function call. intval() checks type information, which adds runtime overhead.

Unexpected Input Handling:

If the input is not a valid integer, (int) returns 0, while intval() returns NULL. This distinction can be important in certain scenarios.

Coercion (0 $var)

When using coercion instead of explicit casting, (int) $var remains the fastest method, while intval($var) and 0 $var exhibit similar performance.

Unexpected Behavior:

Note: Consider the following potential behavioral differences when choosing a conversion method:

• Hexadecimal numbers: (int) treats them as 0, intval() as NULL, while 0 $var interprets them as integers.
• Leading zeros: (int) ignores them, but intval() and 0 $var consider them as octal numbers.

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