How does the value/type inequality operator function in PHP?

The value/type inequality operator in PHP, represented as !==, is used to determine whether two values are not equal and also whether they have different data types. This operator performs a strict comparison that takes both the value and the data type into consideration.

When using this operator, if the values being compared are not equal or if they belong to different types, the result will be true. For example, if you compare a string with a number and they are not of the same type, !== will return true, signifying that either the values differ or they don’t match in type. This ensures that developers are aware of both the equality of the values involved as well as their types, which is crucial in avoiding unintended behavior in type juggling that is common in PHP.

This is distinct from other types of comparisons that may only check for value equality, ignoring type discrepancies, thereby highlighting the importance of the strict nature of the value/type inequality operator.