PHP - why does php think that a random string is equal to true?

Question

$x = true;

if ($x == "continue") {
    $x = "foo";
}

echo $x;    // prints "foo"

I know I can use === instead to solve it, but I wonder why PHP thinks that a string is equal to true?

`==` doesn't check the type. Both values when cast to boolean are true, therefore equal. — Angel Politis, Dec 23 '22 at 12:46
One of the best resource on that topic https://www.php.net/manual/en/types.comparisons.php — Foobar, Dec 23 '22 at 12:48

Bart Friederichs · Accepted Answer · 2022-12-23T12:52:07.977

2

Because a non-empty string is considered true and an empty string is false.

Google for "truthiness" for more info. And yes, a lot of it is bonkers. Just wait until you hear about how JavaScript does it.

edited Dec 23 '22 at 12:52

answered Dec 23 '22 at 12:46

Bart Friederichs

Thank you. I bet there are tens of thousands of unidentified bugs out there because of this ...*facepalm*. – Black Dec 27 '22 at 10:13

1 Answers1