What is the significance of using trim() and (int) when comparing values in PHP arrays?

When comparing values in PHP arrays, it's important to ensure that the values are properly formatted to avoid unexpected results. Using trim() helps remove any leading or trailing whitespaces that might affect the comparison. Additionally, casting values to integers using (int) ensures that numerical values are compared as numbers rather than strings, which can lead to incorrect results.

// Example code snippet
$array1 = ["1", "2", "3"];
$array2 = [" 1 ", "2", "3"];

// Comparing values after using trim() and (int)
if(trim($array1[0]) === trim($array2[0]) && (int)$array1[1] === (int)$array2[1]) {
    echo "Values are equal after trimming and casting to integer.";
} else {
    echo "Values are not equal after trimming and casting to integer.";
}