hi,
one way is "Type Casting" (look in your php manual)
$x = "200403011415";
echo is_string ($x); // true
$x = (integer) $x; // type casting
echo is_string ($x); // false
echo is_int ($x); // true
but depends on what you want to do, for example, if you want to sum:
$x = "200403011415";
echo is_string ($x); // true
$x += 5; // automatic conversion
echo is_string ($x); // false
echo is_int ($x); // false
echo is_float ($x); // true
echo $x; // 200403011420
Another way, is using setType () .
