> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.syntblaze.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # PHP Multiplication The `*` operator in PHP is a binary arithmetic operator used for multiplication. It calculates and returns the mathematical product of two numeric operands. ```php theme={"dark"} $result = $expression1 * $expression2; ``` ## Precedence and Associativity * **Precedence:** The `*` operator has higher precedence than addition (`+`) and subtraction (`-`), but shares the same precedence level as division (`/`) and modulo (`%`). * **Associativity:** It is left-associative. In an expression containing multiple operators of the same precedence level, evaluation proceeds strictly from left to right. ## Type Resolution and Coercion The behavior and return type of the `*` operator depend strictly on the data types of the evaluated operands and the platform's integer limits: * **Integer Evaluation:** If both operands are of type `int`, the operator returns an `int`, provided the resulting product does not exceed the platform's maximum integer threshold (`PHP_INT_MAX`) and does not fall below the platform's minimum integer threshold (`PHP_INT_MIN`). * **Float Evaluation:** If at least one operand is of type `float`, the operator returns a `float`. * **Integer Overflow and Underflow:** If the product of two `int` operands exceeds `PHP_INT_MAX` (positive overflow) or falls below `PHP_INT_MIN` (negative overflow), PHP automatically promotes the return type to a `float` to accommodate the magnitude of the value. * **Implicit Coercion:** If an operand is a numeric string (e.g., `"5"` or `"3.14"`), PHP implicitly casts the string to the corresponding `int` or `float` type before performing the multiplication. * **Strict Typing Exceptions:** In PHP 8.0 and later, attempting to use the `*` operator on non-numeric strings or incompatible types (like arrays or objects without numeric casting capabilities) throws a `TypeError`. ## Syntax Visualization ```php theme={"dark"} // Standard integer multiplication (Returns int) $val1 = 4 * 3; // int(12) // Float multiplication (Returns float) $val2 = 4.5 * 2; // float(9.0) // Mixed type multiplication (Returns float) $val3 = 5 * 1.2; // float(6.0) // Implicit type coercion from numeric string (Returns int) $val4 = "10" * 5; // int(50) // Integer overflow promotion (Returns float) $val5 = PHP_INT_MAX * 2; // float(...) // Integer underflow promotion (Returns float) $val6 = PHP_INT_MIN * 2; // float(...) // Precedence and left-associativity $val7 = 2 + 3 * 4; // int(14) (Multiplication evaluates before addition) $val8 = 10 / 2 * 5; // int(25) (Evaluates left-to-right: (10 / 2) * 5) ```
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