What is the significance of using strict comparison operators like === and !== in PHP functions that return FALSE or INT values?

When PHP functions return FALSE or INT values, using strict comparison operators like === and !== is significant because it ensures that both the value and the data type are being compared. This prevents unexpected type coercion that can lead to incorrect comparisons, especially when dealing with falsy values like 0 or an empty string. 

// Incorrect comparison using loose comparison operator
$value = 0;
if ($value == false) {
    echo "This will be executed even though value is 0";
}

// Correct comparison using strict comparison operator
if ($value === false) {
    echo "This will not be executed as value is not false";
}

Keywords

strict comparison operators === !== PHP functions FALSE values INT values

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