The ceil() function in PHP is used to round a number up to the nearest integer. It always rounds fractions upward, regardless of whether the fractional part is less than 0.5.

Syntax

ceil(float $value): float

Key Points:

• Returns the next highest integer.
• The return type is still float, not int.
• It works with both positive and negative numbers.

Examples:

echo ceil(4.3);     // Output: 5
echo ceil(9.999);   // Output: 10
echo ceil(-3.2);    // Output: -3
echo ceil(-7.8);    // Output: -7
echo ceil(5);       // Output: 5 (already an integer)

Use Case Example:

Imagine you're calculating the number of pages needed to show items in pagination, where each page shows 10 items:

$totalItems = 53;
$itemsPerPage = 10;
$pages = ceil($totalItems / $itemsPerPage);  // 53 / 10 = 5.3 → ceil(5.3) = 6
echo $pages; // Output: 6