"$x == $y" is true in PHP when $x and $y are "not equal"?

Question

I've been a developer for decades - in many programming languages. I can't get a very simple straight forward "if" statement to work in PHP:

if($groupminc == $groupmaxc)

    {
     echo "AFTER1:GROUPMIN==>" . $groupminc . "\n";
     echo "AFTER1:GROUPMAX==>" .  $groupmaxc . "\n";
     $groupmsg = $groupminc . " Participant";
    }
  else
   {
     echo "AFTER2:GROUPMIN==>" . $groupminc . "\n";
     echo "AFTER2:GROUPMAX==>" .  $groupmaxc . "\n";
     $groupmsg = $groupminc . " to " . $groupmaxc . " Participants";
   }

I'm getting the AFTER1 happening even when $groupminc and $groupmaxc are clearly not equal.

PHP is losely typed... if you want to compare type as well as value then use the `===` operator otherwise things will be dynamically cast to "what makes sense as far as i can tell"... — prodigitalson, Jun 15 '12 at 17:12
Post the result you get from `echo`. Or use `var_dump($groupminc);` — Simon Forsberg, Jun 15 '12 at 17:13
Before trying anything it is better if you clarify the types of `$groupminc` and `$groupmaxc`. Otherwise you will get a half-assed answer and you will definitely will be back later. — Alexander, Jun 15 '12 at 17:14
For being an experienced developer, it should be practice to consult the fine manual ... e.g. [the section on `==`](http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.operators.comparison.php). Also, trying things out on a REPL (or "codepad") can help decrease the time it takes to absorb different rules/heuristics/concepts. — , Jun 15 '12 at 17:15
possible duplicate of [How do the equality (== double equals) and identity (=== triple equals) comparison operators differ?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/80646/how-do-the-equality-double-equals-and-identity-triple-equals-comparis) — , Jun 15 '12 at 19:16

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 15 '12 at 17:10

2

try with === :

if($groupminc === $groupmaxc)

answered Jun 15 '12 at 17:10

mgraph

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2

If they are **clearly not equal** then I guess that means that they're content isn't equal, not just their type. This probably won't help at all. – Simon Forsberg Jun 15 '12 at 17:12
3

@Simon: id put money on this actually being the issue/solution *clearly not equal* is a subjective phrase... to someone used to other languages `String(0)` may be clearly not equal to `Integer(0)` – prodigitalson Jun 15 '12 at 17:15
@prodigitalson I am starting to think that you are right, I just realized (after getting a bug on my own) that a non-empty string (excluding some special ones) compared to the integer 1 equals true. That could very well be the case here. Because after all, the string "bug" is "clearly not equal" (according to even myself) to the integer 1. – Simon Forsberg Jul 08 '12 at 00:24

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 10:24

0

I think the issue you're finding here is the difference between the == and the === operators. There's a pretty good answer at this other stackoverflow question

edited May 23 '17 at 10:24

Community

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answered Jun 15 '12 at 17:14

McAden

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 15 '12 at 17:17

0

Show us your complete code with the initialization of the variables.

Or just try following:

echo ($groupminc !== $groupmaxc ? $groupminc.' to ' : '').$groupmaxc.' Participants';

answered Jun 15 '12 at 17:17

DragonWork

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 15 '12 at 17:18

0

You have to be more clear, what values you get in $groupminc and $groupmaxc.Otherwise there may be issue of == and ===

answered Jun 15 '12 at 17:18

Rakesh Shetty

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"$x == $y" is true in PHP when $x and $y are "not equal"?

4 Answers4