code sustitution

Question

can I replace

if(!$mail->Send()) {
    return false;
} else {
    return true;
}

with this?

return (bool)$mail->Send();

regardless of what $mail->Send() is returning (it is a three party object)
is there any type where (bool) acts diferent of the exclamation mark?

Answer 1

Yes, typecasting to the following types is allowed:

The casts allowed are:

• (int), (integer) - cast to integer
• (bool), (boolean) - cast to boolean
• (float), (double), (real) - cast to float
• (string) - cast to string
• (array) - cast to array
• (object) - cast to object
• (unset) - cast to NULL (PHP 5)

Otherwise, it's also possible to use

return !!$mail->Send();

however, that's not very obvious for someone else looking through your code in the future.

Answer 2

Yes you can, and if it's not working you could do this: return !!$mail->Send();.