- microtime: documentation ( source)
<?php
$elements = 1000;
$iterations = 10000;
$array = array();
for ($i = 0; $i < $elements; $i++) $array[] = $i;
$s = microtime(true);
for ($i = 0; $i < $iterations; $i++) $array === (array) $array;
$e = microtime(true);
echo "Cast completed in " . ($e - $s) ." Seconds\n";
$s = microtime(true);
for ($i = 0; $i < $iterations; $i++) is_array($array);
$e = microtime(true);
echo "is_array completed in " . ($e - $s) ." Seconds\n";