Raise Number to the Power using fpow in PHP 8.4

PHP provides pow function and ** operator. The pow function takes two arguments: the base and the exponent, and returns the result of raising the base to the power of the exponent. On the other hand, the ** operator is a shorthand syntax for exponentiation, providing a more concise way to perform the same operation.

<?php

echo pow(2, 4); // 16
echo 2 ** 4; // 16

Since PHP 8.4, raising 0 to a negative exponent is deprecated by using the pow function and the ** operator.

<?php

echo pow(0, -4); // INF, Deprecated: Power of base 0 and negative exponent is deprecated ...
echo 0 ** -4; // INF, Deprecated: Power of base 0 and negative exponent is deprecated ...

Starting with PHP 8.4, the fpow function can be used for raising one number to the power of another according to the IEEE 754 standard. Unlike the pow or the ** operator, fpow returns INF when 0 is raised to a negative exponent and does not trigger a deprecation notice.

<?php

echo fpow(2, 4); // 16
echo fpow(0, -4); // INF