PHP Variable Handling is_real() Function

The PHP Variable Handling is_real() function is used to check whether a given value is a real number (a floating-point number). A real number has a decimal point, like 3.14 or 2.5. This function helps find out whether a variable has a floating-point value or not. It is useful for executing mathematical calculations.

If the input value is a real number, the function returns TRUE. If the value is not a real number (e.g., an integer, string, or boolean), the function returns false. This function is useful in a variety of programming tasks. But in later versions of PHP is_real() is no longer needed. Instead, use the function is_float().

This alias was DEPRECATED in PHP 7.4.0, and REMOVED as of PHP 8.0.0.

Syntax

Below is the syntax of the PHP Variable Handling is_real() function −

bool is_real( mixed $value )

Parameters

This function accepts $value parameter which is the value that needs to be checked.

Return Value

The is_real() function returns TRUE if the given value is a real number (floating-point number). And it returns FALSE if the value is not a real number.

PHP Version

First introduced in core PHP 4, the is_real() function continues to function easily in PHP 5, PHP 7, and PHP 8.

Example 1

In this example, we are using var_dump() to display the results. The function is executed with a wide range of values, like a floating-point number, a string, an integer, scientific notation and boolean. But, the PHP Variable Handling is_real() function function was deprecated in PHP 7.4 and deleted in PHP 8.0. Instead, use is_float().

<?php
   var_dump(is_real(4.01));   
   var_dump(is_real('ter'));  
   var_dump(is_real(44));      
   var_dump(is_real(44.8));    
   var_dump(is_real(3e7));    
   var_dump(is_real(false));   
?>

Output

Here is the outcome of the following code −

bool(true)
bool(false)
bool(false)
bool(true)
bool(true)
bool(false)