Changing the sign of a number in PHP?

Question

Hay Guys, I have quick question.

I have a few floats:

-4.50
+6.25
-8.00
-1.75

How can I change all these to negative floats so they become:

-4.50
-6.25
-8.00
-1.75

Also i need a way to do the reverse

If the float is a negative, make it a positive.

Thanks

Answer 1

How about something trivial like:

• inverting:

  $num = -$num;
  

• converting only positive into negative:

  if ($num > 0) $num = -$num;
  

• converting only negative into positive:

  if ($num < 0) $num = -$num;
  

Answer 2

A trivial

$num = $num <= 0 ? $num : -$num ;

or, the better solution, IMHO:

$num = -1 * abs($num)

EDIT:

the explicit multiplication can be avoided for shortness as @VegardLarsen has posted, but I prefer readability over shortness :)

EDIT2:

I suggest to avoid if/else (or equivalent ternary operator) especially if you have to manipulate a number of items (in a loop or using a lambda function), as it will affect performance.

EDIT3:

"If the float is a negative, make it a positive."

In order to change the sign of a number you can simply do:

$num = 0 - $num;

or, multiply it by -1, of course :)

Answer 3

$float = -abs($float);

Answer 4

I think Gumbo's answer is just fine. Some people prefer this fancy expression that does the same thing:

$int = (($int > 0) ? -$int : $int);

EDIT: Apparently you are looking for a function that will make negatives positive as well. I think these answers are the simplest:

/* I am not proposing you actually use functions called
   "makeNegative" and "makePositive"; I am just presenting
   the most direct solution in the form of two clearly named
   functions. */
function makeNegative($num) { return -abs($num); }
function makePositive($num) { return abs($num); }

Answer 5

re the edit: "Also i need a way to do the reverse If the float is a negative, make it a positive"

$number = -$number;

changes the number to its opposite.

Answer 6

This was a popular funny question on reddit a couple of weeks back. Some people post ridiculous answers involving for loops and such. I was tempted at post a solution like that here but I think some may not have seen the humor in it and I would have gotten down votted fairly quick.