is_scalar()

is_scalar() — Finds whether a variable is a scalar.

Built-in function of PHP 8.5. The manual lists it as available in PHP 4 >= 4.0.5, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8. This page is the reference card: signature, parameters and return value, plus the changelog and the example the manual provides.

What it does

Finds whether an expression is evaluated as a scalar value.

Signature

is_scalar(mixed $value): bool

Parameters

Return value

Returns true if value is a scalar, false otherwise.

Example

A runnable snippet:

function show_var($var) { if (is_scalar($var)) { echo $var, PHP_EOL; } else { var_dump($var); } } $pi = 3.1416; $proteins = array("hemoglobin", "cytochrome c oxidase", "ferredoxin"); show_var($pi); show_var($proteins)

Output:

3.1416 array(3) { [0]=> string(10) "hemoglobin" [1]=> string(20) "cytochrome c oxidase" [2]=> string(10) "ferredoxin" }

See also

is_float(), is_int(), is_numeric(), is_string(), is_bool(), is_object(), is_array()

All PHP 8.5 built-in functions

Reference card built from the PHP manual page is_scalar() (PHP documentation, CC BY 3.0). The page is generated from the manual, so the wording of the parameter and return value text follows php.net.