PHP how to get the variable type

To get the type of variables you have in your code, you can use the PHP gettype() or var_dump() function.

The PHP gettype() function returns a string that shows the type of the variable you passed as its argument:

$myVar = "Hello";

print gettype($myVar); // string

print gettype(999); // integer

$arr = [1, 2, "A"];
print gettype($arr); // array

The var_dump() function returns a structured information from an expression.

This var_dump() can be used to get the type and value that your variable holds.

Unlike gettype() which returns a string value, var_dump() directly produces an output to the browser. You don’t need to add print or echo before calling the function:

$myVar = "Hello";

var_dump($myVar);

var_dump(999);

$arr = [1, 2, "A"];
var_dump($arr);

The code above will produce the following output:

string(5) "Hello"
int(999)
array(3) {
  [0]=>
  int(1)
  [1]=>
  int(2)
  [2]=>
  string(1) "A"
}

When you pass a string value, the var_dump() function also returns the length of the string as you see in the example above.

When you need the variable type returned as a string, you should use the gettype() function.

If you are debugging an issue during development, you may want to use the var_dump() function as it gives you more information about a specific variable.

Now you’ve learned how to get the variable type in PHP. Nice work!