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Monthly Archives:: October 2009

Speed Comparison of strlen() VS empty() in PHP Shows empty() is Faster

October 8th, 2009 — Geekery

While working on a PHP project, I found myself occasionally switching between using empty() or !strlen() when I was dealing with strings. In PHP, there are often multiple solutions for the same problem and this was one of those cases. I didn’t really have a reason to use one over the other and, as most… Read more »

Professional Technologist


My name is David Drake. I am a father and technologist who revels in creating things and tackling difficult problems.


Appreciator of the outdoors. Enjoyer of good humans, cooking, aromatic coffee, and plants. Actor for many years. Very fond of science; particularly astronomy and quantum physics. Likes to grow things and travel. Commodore 64 tattoo. Fan of PBS, Apple, and The NY Times. Constantly learning and loves to teach.


Everything I say is my own opinion and not representative of any organization.

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