Should one use == or === in if statements in PHP?

When writing if statements in PHP, it is generally recommended to use the strict comparison operator === instead of the loose comparison operator ==. This is because === checks both the value and the data type of the variables being compared, ensuring a more precise comparison. Using == can lead to unexpected results due to type coercion, where PHP tries to convert the variables to the same type before comparing them.

// Using strict comparison operator ===
$var1 = 5;
$var2 = '5';

if ($var1 === $var2) {
    echo "Variables are equal in value and type";
} else {
    echo "Variables are not equal in value or type";
}