1.2.118. Casting Ternary¶
Type casting has a precedence over ternary operator, and is applied first. When this happens, the condition is cast, although it is often useless as PHP will do it if needed.
This applies to the ternary operator, the coalesce operator ?: and the null-coalesce operator ??. The last example generates first an error Undefined variable: b, since $b is first cast to a string. The result is then an empty string, which leads to an empty string to be stored into $a. Multiple errors cascade.
<?php
$a = (string) $b ? 3 : 4;
$a = (string) $b ?: 4;
$a = (string) $b ?? 4;
?>
See also Operators Precedence.
1.2.118.1. Suggestions¶
Add parenthesis around the ternary operator
Skip the casting
Cast in another expression
1.2.118.2. Specs¶
Short name |
Structures/CastingTernary |
Rulesets |
|
Exakat since |
1.8.0 |
PHP Version |
All |
Severity |
Major |
Time To Fix |
Quick (30 mins) |
Precision |
Very high |
Features |
ternary, cast |
Available in |