Why does this evaluate to true?

Question

Possible Duplicate:
Why does (0 == ‘Hello’) return true in PHP?

<?php
echo ('names' == 0) ? 1 :0;
?>

Evaluates to TRUE

If I add an extra equals sign it will work, but this is counter intuitive.

<?php
echo ('names' === 0) ? 1 :0;
?>

Evaluates to FALSE

<?php
echo ('names' == FALSE) ? 1 :0;
?>

Evaluates to FALSE

Also found this: Why does 1234 == '1234 test' evaluate to true?

Reported as a [bug](https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=44999), explained in link there, in line with @Ynhockey's answer. — Mark, Jan 21 '13 at 11:57
Did you check the [manual](http://php.net/manual/en/types.comparisons.php) — melpomene, Jan 21 '13 at 12:01
PHP likes numbers, so when comparing a string with a number, it tries to convert the string to a number. This is why `'1aab' == 1` is true, and it's the same reason why your expression is true. — Vlad Preda, Jan 21 '13 at 12:10
Because it has no numbers at all? wow.. this is why i hate loosely typed languages — Jay, Jan 21 '13 at 12:16

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 21 '13 at 11:57

3

The reason is that the numerical value of the string 'names' is 0, but the boolean value is true (as far as I know, any non-empty string that's not also '0' or something similar is equivalent to true in PHP).

answered Jan 21 '13 at 11:57

Ynhockey

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http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12151997/why-does-1234-1234-test-evaluate-to-true?rq=1 – Jay Jan 21 '13 at 12:06

Why does this evaluate to true?

1 Answers1