What is the difference between == and === in PHP ?

In this article, we will discuss the differences between '==' and '===' operators in PHP. Both are comparison operators used to compare two or more values.

== Operator: This operator is used to check the given values are equal or not. If yes, it returns true, otherwise it returns false.

Syntax:

operand1 == operand2

=== Operator: This operator is used to check the given values and its data type are equal or not. If yes, then it returns true, otherwise it returns false.

Syntax:

operand1 === operand2

Note: === operator will return false when data types of operand are different.

Example 1: The following code demonstrates == operator with same and different data type operands.

<?php

$a = 34;
$b = 34;

// Show message if two operands are
// equal with same data type operands
if($a == $b) {
    echo "Equal";
}
else{
    echo "Not Equal";
}

echo "\n";

// Show a message if two operands are equal
// with different data type operands
// First is of string type and the second
// is of integer type
if('34' == 34){
    echo "Equal";
}
else{
    echo "Not Equal";
}

?>

Output:

Equal
Equal

Example 2: The following code demonstrates the === operator.

<?php

$a = 34;
$b = 34;

// Return a message if two operands are
// equal with same data type operands
if($a === $b){
    echo "Equal";
}
else{
    echo "not Equal";
}

echo "\n";

// Return a message if two operands are equal
// with different data type operands
// First is of string type and the second
// is if integer type
if('34' === 34){
    echo "Equal";
}
else{
    echo "not Equal";
}

?>

Output:

Equal
not Equal

Difference between  == and === operators: