intval
    (PHP 3, PHP 4, PHP 5)
intval -- Get the integer value of a variable
Description
int 
intval ( mixed var [, int base] )
   Returns the integer value of var,
   using the specified base for the conversion 
   (the default is base 10).
  
Parameters
   
- var
 
       The scalar value being converted to an integer
      
- base
 
       The base for the conversion (default is base 10)
      
 
  Return Values
   The integer value of var on success, or 0 on
   failure. Empty arrays and objects return 0, non-empty arrays and
   objects return 1.
  
   The maximum value depends on the system. 32 bit systems have a 
   maximum signed integer range of -2147483648 to 2147483647. So for example 
   on such a system, intval('1000000000000') will return 
   2147483647. The maximum signed integer value for 64 bit systems is 
   9223372036854775807.
  
   Strings will most likely return 0 although this depends on the 
   leftmost characters of the string. The common rules of 
   integer casting 
   apply.
  
Examples
   
Example 1. intval() examples 
     The following examples are based on a 32 bit system.
     
<?php echo intval(42);                      // 42 echo intval(4.2);                     // 4 echo intval('42');                    // 42 echo intval('+42');                   // 42 echo intval('-42');                   // -42 echo intval(042);                     // 34 echo intval('042');                   // 42 echo intval(1e10);                    // 1410065408 echo intval('1e10');                  // 1 echo intval(0x1A);                    // 26 echo intval(42000000);                // 42000000 echo intval(420000000000000000000);   // 0 echo intval('420000000000000000000'); // 2147483647 echo intval(42, 8);                   // 42 echo intval('42', 8);                 // 34 ?>
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  Notes
Note: 
    The base parameter has no effect unless the
    var parameter is a string.