Question MySQL Database Code load query question

So i see this allot through the joomla framework and i am curious to what the diffrence between running the code that contains

And

No matter what one you use they both have the same output but i just can not find or figure out what the purpose of the "(int)" is ?

When i look around i find on PHP.net it is a integer of some kind for defining variables and functions. ( php.net/manual/en/language.types.integer.php )

Hello,

by adding (int) your are that the variable $database->loadResult(); in an integer

So does it increase or decrease the queries performance ? Also i thought there should be a value for integers. not just (int) or it tells it to use a default value ?

It has no effect on performance, but simplifies code in the case if the query doesn't find an item. In that case it returns 0 and not NULL, which may need further check.