What does the array identical operator (===) check in PHP?

The array identical operator (===) in PHP checks whether two arrays are equal by both type and value. This means that it verifies that the arrays contain the same elements in the exact same order and that both arrays are indeed of the type "array".

When using the identical operator, not only must the arrays have the same values, but they also need to be structured in the same way—meaning the corresponding elements of both arrays must be of identical types as well. If there is a discrepancy in either the type or the order of the elements, the comparison will evaluate to false. This behavior emphasizes the strictness of the identical operator, making it a powerful tool for ensuring both equality of content and type in PHP arrays.

The other options do not accurately capture this strict evaluation. For instance, while some may think it pertains to just matching values regardless of their structure, the identical operator also requires the data types to match, thus reinforcing the need for both equality and type compliance in a comparison.