php: '0' as a string with empty()

Question

I want a 0 to be considered as an integer and a \'0\' to be considered as a string but empty() considers the \'0\' as a string in the example below,

$var = \         


        

Answer 1

$var = '0';

// Evaluates to true because $var is empty
if (empty($var) && $var !== '0') {
    echo '$var is empty or the string "0"';
}