Someone downmodded you for being offtopic, but I'll answer you anyway.
The name of the var doesn't matter at all. And you can change the type of a var at will. There is nothing at all in PHP that will be better if you avoid changing the type, so just do what is clearest for your program.
The name of the var doesn't matter at all. And you can change the type of a var at will. There is nothing at all in PHP that will be better if you avoid changing the type, so just do what is clearest for your program.