PHP Value Inspection Reference

How it works

get_debug_type gives a readable diagnostic name. is_int, is_string and related predicates inspect the current type rather than parsing an external representation. isset and empty are language constructs with their own null/truthiness rules. A reference lookup should include the failure result and the accepted argument types, not just the function’s spelling. The related-name index is an API inventory, not a claim that every name is recommended in new code.

Run it locally

Run this complete source locally with PHP 8.2 or newer. Save it using the filename shown and run the command below. PHP is not currently available in Bhylu’s browser playground. Apache and MySQL are not needed for an ordinary CLI example.

php -l ref-values.php
php ref-values.php

Download this source as a local PHP lab file. Keep lab files separate from the Bhylu project and production data.

Example

<?php
declare(strict_types=1);

$values = [0,"0",null];
foreach ($values as $value) echo get_debug_type($value), ":", is_int($value) ? "integer" : "other", "\n";

Expected result

int:integer
string:other
null:other

The two zero-like values retain their different types. The null value is deliberately absent data, not a failed integer parse. This diagnostic output helps you select a parser contract but should not be dumped alongside private request/session data in a public response.

Contracts to check

Related API names

This alphabetic inventory helps locate related calls. Availability was checked in the review runtime; it is not a recommendation to use every API or a claim that every overload/function was executed. Read the official entry for version, extension, failure and security details.