title: SQL bigint data type seen as string by gettype(); function. why?
body: <p>1) I want to understand why numeric data stored as <code>bigint</code> is seen as <code>'string'</code> when i call <code>gettype();</code> in php.</p>
  
  <p>2) Is there a function such as <code>is_bigint();</code> for php that can check if variable is bigint.</p>
  
  <p>3) How can i check data type when it's bigint as multiplying by 1 OR adding 0 to a string mixed with numbers and alphabets will retrun <code>'Notice: A non well formed numeric value encountered in line 2'</code> and calling <code>gettype();</code> on the now multiplied data type will return:<code>integer</code></p>