PHP 7 - Scalar Type Declarations

In PHP 7, a new feature, Scalar type declarations, has been introduced. Scalar type declaration has two options −
  • coercive - coercive is default mode and need not to be specified.
  • strict - strict mode has to explicitly hinted.
Following types for function parameters can be enforced using the above modes −
  • int
  • float
  • bool
  • string
  • interfaces
  • array
  • callable

Example - Coercive Mode

<?php
   // Coercive mode
   function sum(int ...$ints) {
      return array_sum($ints);
   }
   print(sum(2, '3', 4.1));
?>
It produces the following browser output −
9

Example - Strict Mode

<?php
   // Strict mode
   declare(strict_types=1);
   function sum(int ...$ints) {
      return array_sum($ints);
   }
   print(sum(2, '3', 4.1));
?>
It produces the following browser output −
Fatal error: Uncaught TypeError: Argument 2 passed to sum() must be of the type integer, string given, ...