strval() to get string from a variable

echo strval(34)."<br>"; //34
echo strval(12.34)."<br>"; // 12.34 
echo strval(12.340)."<br>"; // 12.34 
echo strval(.34)."<br>"; // 0.34 
echo strval(0.34)."<br>"; // 0.34 
echo strval(-0.34)."<br>"; // -0.34 
echo strval('plus2net')."<br>";// plus2net

Application using strval()

$my_num=strval(12345678);
$sum=0;
for($i=0; $i<strlen($my_num); $i++){
	if(($i % 2) ==0){
	$sum=$sum + $my_num[$i];	
	}	
}
print($sum)

Example 2: Converting Boolean Values to Strings

The *strval()* function can also be used to convert boolean values to strings, returning either '1' for true or an empty string for false.

$true_val = strval(true);
$false_val = strval(false);
echo "True: $true_val, False: $false_val";

This will output:

True: 1, False: 

Example 3: Converting Null Values to Strings

When converting null values to strings, *strval()* returns an empty string.

$null_val = strval(null);
echo "Null: '$null_val'";

This will output:

Null: ''

Example 4: Converting Arrays to Strings (Indirectly)

While *strval()* cannot directly convert arrays, we can use *implode()* in conjunction with it to join array elements into a string.

$arr = [1, 2, 3];
$str = strval(implode(", ", $arr));
echo $str;

This will output:

1, 2, 3

Use Case: Safely Casting User Input

In scenarios where user input needs to be safely cast to a string to prevent errors in concatenation or display:

$user_input = 45.67; // Could be any data type
$safe_input = strval($user_input);
echo "User input: " . $safe_input;

This ensures that any variable, regardless of its type, is safely converted to a string.

Example 5: Using strval() with Objects

Objects need to implement the *__toString()* method to be converted into strings using *strval()*.

class MyClass {
    public function __toString() {
        return "Object as string";
    }
}
$obj = new MyClass();
echo strval($obj);

This will output:

Object as string