Types used in the library - Bit-Wasp/bitcoin-php GitHub Wiki

The library offers an object oriented interface, so functions are type-hinted where appropriate.

Integers are usually int|string

Math is done using GMP, so integers are returned as decimal strings. They are the only case a string is not encapsulated by a class.

Byte strings are Buffers

All strings, such as hashes, serialized data, should be encapsulated as a Buffer.

This class manages the hex/decimal/binary conversions very well, and allows us to deal with binary quite easily.

Arrays are not returned by public functions

... unless they are a collection of types. Where possible, classes should be used.