# is_scalar

(PHP 4 >= 4.0.5, PHP 5, PHP 7)

is_scalar — Finds whether a variable is a scalar

### Description

is_scalar ( mixed `$var` ) : bool

Finds whether the given variable is a scalar.

Scalar variables are those containing an integer, float, string or boolean. Types array, object and resource are not scalar.

> Note:

> is_scalar() does not consider resource type values to be scalar as resources are abstract datatypes which are currently based on integers. This implementation detail should not be relied upon, as it may change.

> Note:

> is_scalar() does not consider NULL to be scalar.

### Parameters

`var`

  The variable being evaluated.

### Return Values

Returns `TRUE` if `var` is a scalar, `FALSE` otherwise.

### Examples

Example #1 is_scalar() example

`<?php
function show_var($var)
{
if (is_scalar($var)) {
echo $var;
} else {
var_dump($var);
}
}
$pi = 3.1416;
$proteins = array("hemoglobin", "cytochrome c oxidase", "ferredoxin");
show_var($pi);
show_var($proteins)
?>`

The above example will output:

    3.1416
    array(3) {
      [0]=>
      string(10) "hemoglobin"
      [1]=>
      string(20) "cytochrome c oxidase"
      [2]=>
      string(10) "ferredoxin"
    }

### See Also

- is_float() - Finds whether the type of a variable is float
- is_int() - Find whether the type of a variable is integer
- is_numeric() - Finds whether a variable is a number or a numeric string
- is_real() - Alias of is_float
- is_string() - Find whether the type of a variable is string
- is_bool() - Finds out whether a variable is a boolean
- is_object() - Finds whether a variable is an object
- is_array() - Finds whether a variable is an array