What is the benefit of using integer values directly instead of strings when performing arithmetic operations in PHP?

Using integer values directly instead of strings when performing arithmetic operations in PHP is beneficial because it allows for faster and more efficient calculations. When using strings, PHP has to first convert the strings to integers before performing any arithmetic operations, which can slow down the process. By using integer values directly, you can avoid this unnecessary conversion step and improve the performance of your code.

// Using integer values directly for arithmetic operations
$number1 = 10;
$number2 = 5;

$result = $number1 + $number2;

echo $result; // Output: 15