Is "1" + 1 correct in PHP?

Question

May I write:

"1" + 1;

In PHP, to get 2, or do I have to cast first:

(int)"1" + 1;

? The reason I wonder this is because I have a counter in a text file that I want to increment:

file_put_contents($filename, file_get_contents($filename) + 1);

I would avoid to relay on auto conversions, an explicit int cast is better IMHO. — rekire
– rekire, Commented Dec 24, 2015 at 21:36
if this "1" + 1; works, then it will work for your last statement as well — Nike Sprite
– Nike Sprite, Commented Dec 24, 2015 at 21:42

Ambika · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-24 22:02:19Z

Yes, PHP cast string or char to integer itself, if the string is convertible to integer i.e,

"86"+6=92 and "91"+"9"=100 and "91a"+"8"=99

But for "a"+6=6 and "a5"+5=5 and "a"+"a"=0

php can't cast "a5" to integer, so it cast it as 0 in integer same for "a"

Php is very loose scripting language

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