The 3 different equals

What is the difference between =, ==, and ===?

I think using one equal sign is to declare a variable while two equal signs are for a comparison condition and lastly three equal signs are for comparing values of declared variables.


Solution 1:

You have = the assignment operator, == the 'equal' comparison operator and === the 'identical' comparison operator.

$a = $b     Assign      Sets $a to be equal to $b.
$a == $b    Equal       TRUE if $a is equal to $b.
$a === $b   Identical   TRUE if $a is equal to $b, and they are of the same type. (introduced in PHP 4)

For more info on the need for == and ===, and situations to use each, look at the docs.

Solution 2:

  • = is the assignment operator
  • == is the comparison operator (checks if two variables have equal values)
  • === is the identical comparison operator (checks if two variables have equal values and are of the same type).