__toString() with strval() and settype()

Question: Given an object, $obj, should strval($obj) and settype($obj, 'string') return $obj->__toString() if it exists? They currently do not, but (string) $obj does. Are these three operations supposed to be identical, but with different syntax? Or are there other differences among them? -adam -- adam@trachtenberg.com author of o'reilly's php cookbook avoid the holiday rush, buy your copy today!