Return Type Declarations in PHP 7

 In PHP 7, a new feature, Return type declarations has been introduced. Return type declaration specifies the type of value that a function should return.

What is return type declarations in PHP7? Return type declaration is specifying the expected data types of the result that a function or a class method should return. Due to return type declaration, PHP, for example, can convert the integer result into a string before returning the result of the function.

EXAMPLE

<?php declare(strict_types=1);
$a=1; // integer
$b=2; // integer
function FunctionName ($a, $b) : int {
return $a+$b;
}
echo FunctionName ($a, $b);
?>

It produces the following browser output − 3

Following types for return types can be declared. (int, float, bool, string, interfaces or array)

What is scalar type declaration in PHP 7?
In PHP 7, a new feature, Scalar type declarations, has been introduced.

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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 −

Scalar type declaration means the statement to a function to accept arguments (parameters) or return values only of the given scalar data type (int, float, string, interfaces, array, or bool).

Example – Coercive Mode

<?php
   // Coercive mode
   function FunctionName(int ...$ints) {
      return array_sum(="pln">$ints);
   }
   print(FunctionName(1, '2', 3.1));
?>

It produces the following browser output − 6

Example – Strict Mode

<?php
   // Strict mode
   declare(strict_types=1);
   function FunctionName(int ...$ints) {
      return array_sum($ints);
   }
   print(FunctionName(1, '2', 3.1));
?>

It produces the following browser output −
Fatal error: Uncaught TypeError: Argument 2 passed to sum() must be of the type integer, string given, …

To specify a scalar type declaration, the name of the scalar data type should be added before the parameter name

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