Compare floats in php

Question

I want to compare two floats in PHP, like in this sample code:

$a = 0.17;
$b = 1 - 0.83; //0.17
if($a == $b ){
 echo \'a and b are same\';
}
else {
 echo \'a         


        

Answer 1

2019

TL;DR

Use my function below, like this if(cmpFloats($a, '==', $b)) { ... }

• Easy to read/write/change: cmpFloats($a, '<=', $b) vs bccomp($a, $b) <= -1
• No dependencies needed.
• Works with any PHP version.
• Works with negative numbers.
• Works with the longest decimal you can imagine.
• Downside: Slightly slower than bccomp()

---

Summary

I'll unveil the mystery.

$a = 0.17;
$b = 1 - 0.83;// 0.17 (output)
              // but actual value internally is: 0.17000000000000003996802888650563545525074005126953125
if($a == $b) {
    echo 'same';
} else {
    echo 'different';
}
// Output: different

So if you try the below, it will be equal:

if($b == 0.17000000000000003) {
    echo 'same';
} else {
    echo 'different';
}
// Output "same"

---

How to get the actual value of float?

$b = 1 - 0.83;
echo $b;// 0.17
echo number_format($a, 100);// 0.1700000000000000399680288865056354552507400512695312500000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

---

How can you compare?

1. Use BC Math functions. (you'll still get a lot of wtf-aha-gotcha moments)
2. You may try @Gladhon's answer, using PHP_FLOAT_EPSILON (PHP 7.2).
3. If comparing floats with == and !=, you can typecast them to strings, it should work perfectly:

Type cast with string:

$b = 1 - 0.83;
if((string)$b === (string)0.17) {
    echo 'if';
} else {
    echo 'else';
}
// it will output "if"

Or typecast with number_format():

$b = 1 - 0.83;
if(number_format($b, 3) === number_format(0.17, 3)) {
    echo 'if';
} else {
    echo 'else';
}
// it will output "if"

---

Warning:

Avoid solutions that involves manipulating floats mathematically (multiplying, dividing, etc) then comparing, mostly they'll solve some problems and introduce other problems.

---

Suggested Solution

I've create pure PHP function (no depenedcies/libraries/extensions needed). Checks and compares each digit as string. Also works with negative numbers.

/**
 * Compare numbers (floats, int, string), this function will compare them safely
 * @param Float|Int|String  $a         (required) Left operand
 * @param String            $operation (required) Operator, which can be: "==", "!=", ">", ">=", "<" or "<="
 * @param Float|Int|String  $b         (required) Right operand
 * @param Int               $decimals  (optional) Number of decimals to compare
 * @return boolean                     Return true if operation against operands is matching, otherwise return false
 * @throws Exception                   Throws exception error if passed invalid operator or decimal
 */
function cmpFloats($a, $operation, $b, $decimals = 15) {
    if($decimals < 0) {
        throw new Exception('Invalid $decimals ' . $decimals . '.');
    }
    if(!in_array($operation, ['==', '!=', '>', '>=', '<', '<='])) {
        throw new Exception('Invalid $operation ' . $operation . '.');
    }

    $aInt = (int)$a;
    $bInt = (int)$b;

    $aIntLen = strlen((string)$aInt);
    $bIntLen = strlen((string)$bInt);

    // We'll not used number_format because it inaccurate with very long numbers, instead will use str_pad and manipulate it as string
    $aStr = (string)$a;//number_format($a, $decimals, '.', '');
    $bStr = (string)$b;//number_format($b, $decimals, '.', '');

    // If passed null, empty or false, then it will be empty string. So change it to 0
    if($aStr === '') {
        $aStr = '0';
    }
    if($bStr === '') {
        $bStr = '0';
    }

    if(strpos($aStr, '.') === false) {
        $aStr .= '.';
    }
    if(strpos($bStr, '.') === false) {
        $bStr .= '.';
    }

    $aIsNegative = strpos($aStr, '-') !== false;
    $bIsNegative = strpos($bStr, '-') !== false;

    // Append 0s to the right
    $aStr = str_pad($aStr, ($aIsNegative ? 1 : 0) + $aIntLen + 1 + $decimals, '0', STR_PAD_RIGHT);
    $bStr = str_pad($bStr, ($bIsNegative ? 1 : 0) + $bIntLen + 1 + $decimals, '0', STR_PAD_RIGHT);

    // If $decimals are less than the existing float, truncate
    $aStr = substr($aStr, 0, ($aIsNegative ? 1 : 0) + $aIntLen + 1 + $decimals);
    $bStr = substr($bStr, 0, ($bIsNegative ? 1 : 0) + $bIntLen + 1 + $decimals);

    $aDotPos = strpos($aStr, '.');
    $bDotPos = strpos($bStr, '.');

    // Get just the decimal without the int
    $aDecStr = substr($aStr, $aDotPos + 1, $decimals);
    $bDecStr = substr($bStr, $bDotPos + 1, $decimals);

    $aDecLen = strlen($aDecStr);
    //$bDecLen = strlen($bDecStr);

    // To match 0.* against -0.*
    $isBothZeroInts = $aInt == 0 && $bInt == 0;

    if($operation === '==') {
        return $aStr === $bStr ||
               $isBothZeroInts && $aDecStr === $bDecStr;
    } else if($operation === '!=') {
        return $aStr !== $bStr ||
               $isBothZeroInts && $aDecStr !== $bDecStr;
    } else if($operation === '>') {
        if($aInt > $bInt) {
            return true;
        } else if($aInt < $bInt) {
            return false;
        } else {// Ints equal, check decimals
            if($aDecStr === $bDecStr) {
                return false;
            } else {
                for($i = 0; $i < $aDecLen; ++$i) {
                    $aD = (int)$aDecStr[$i];
                    $bD = (int)$bDecStr[$i];
                    if($aD > $bD) {
                        return true;
                    } else if($aD < $bD) {
                        return false;
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    } else if($operation === '>=') {
        if($aInt > $bInt ||
           $aStr === $bStr ||
           $isBothZeroInts && $aDecStr === $bDecStr) {
            return true;
        } else if($aInt < $bInt) {
            return false;
        } else {// Ints equal, check decimals
            if($aDecStr === $bDecStr) {// Decimals also equal
                return true;
            } else {
                for($i = 0; $i < $aDecLen; ++$i) {
                    $aD = (int)$aDecStr[$i];
                    $bD = (int)$bDecStr[$i];
                    if($aD > $bD) {
                        return true;
                    } else if($aD < $bD) {
                        return false;
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    } else if($operation === '<') {
        if($aInt < $bInt) {
            return true;
        } else if($aInt > $bInt) {
            return false;
        } else {// Ints equal, check decimals
            if($aDecStr === $bDecStr) {
                return false;
            } else {
                for($i = 0; $i < $aDecLen; ++$i) {
                    $aD = (int)$aDecStr[$i];
                    $bD = (int)$bDecStr[$i];
                    if($aD < $bD) {
                        return true;
                    } else if($aD > $bD) {
                        return false;
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    } else if($operation === '<=') {
        if($aInt < $bInt || 
           $aStr === $bStr ||
           $isBothZeroInts && $aDecStr === $bDecStr) {
            return true;
        } else if($aInt > $bInt) {
            return false;
        } else {// Ints equal, check decimals
            if($aDecStr === $bDecStr) {// Decimals also equal
                return true;
            } else {
                for($i = 0; $i < $aDecLen; ++$i) {
                    $aD = (int)$aDecStr[$i];
                    $bD = (int)$bDecStr[$i];
                    if($aD < $bD) {
                        return true;
                    } else if($aD > $bD) {
                        return false;
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

---

$a = 1 - 0.83;// 0.17
$b = 0.17;
if($a == $b) {
    echo 'same';
} else {
    echo 'different';
}
// Output: different (wrong)

if(cmpFloats($a, '==', $b)) {
    echo 'same';
} else {
    echo 'different';
}
// Output: same (correct)