String comparison using == vs strcmp() in PHP

In this article, we will see the string comparison using the equal (==) operator & strcmp() Function in PHP, along with understanding their implementation through the example.

PHP == Operator: The comparison operator called Equal Operator is the double equal sign "==". This operator accepts two inputs to compare and returns a true value if both of the values are the same (It compares the only value of the variable, not data types) and returns a false value if both of the values are not the same. 

This should always be kept in mind that the present equality operator == is different from the assignment operator =. The assignment operator assigns the variable on the left to have a new value as the variable on right, while the equal operator == tests for equality and returns true or false as per the comparison results.

Example: This example describes the string comparison using the == operator. 

<?php

  // Declaration of strings
  $name1 = "Geeks";
  $name2 = "Geeks";

  // Use == operator
  if ($name1 == $name2) {
      echo 'Both strings are equal';
  }
  else {
      echo 'Both strings are not equal';
  }
?>

Output:

Both the strings are equal

PHP strcmp() Function: The strcmp() is an inbuilt function in PHP that is used to compare two strings. This function is case-sensitive which points that capital and small cases will be treated differently, during comparison. This function compares two strings and tells whether the first string is greater or smaller or equals the second string. This function is binary-safe string comparison.

Syntax:

strcmp( $string1, $string2 )

Parameters: This function accepts two parameters as mentioned above and described below:

• $string1: This parameter refers to the first string to be used in the comparison. It is a mandatory parameter.
• $string2: This parameter refers to the second string to be used in the comparison. It is a mandatory parameter.

Return Values: The function returns a random integer value depending on the condition of the match, which is given by: 

• Returns 0 if the strings are equal.
• Returns a negative value (< 0), if $string2 is greater than $string1.
• Returns a positive value (> 0) if $string1 is greater than $string2.

Example: This example illustrates the string comparison using the strcmp() function.

<?php

  // Declaration of strings
  $name1 = "Geeks";
  $name2 = "geeks";

  // Use strcmp() function 
  if (strcmp($name1, $name2) !== 0) {
      echo 'Both strings are not equal';
  }
  else {
      echo 'Both strings are equal';
  }
?>

Output:

Both strings are not equal

Reference:

• https://www.php.net/manual/en/language.operators.comparison.php
• https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.strcmp.php

PHP is a server-side scripting language designed specifically for web development. You can learn PHP from the ground up by following this PHP Tutorial and PHP Examples.