PHP arrays allow us to store multiple values under a single variable name. This means that instead of needing to define a variable for each item, you can store them all together using a single variable.
Arrays are populated in key-value pairs. You have to provide what you want to store in the array, the value, and then a unique identifier, or ID, for the item, called the key. Providing back the ID is how you can access the value you stored in the array.
There are three different kinds of arrays that you can create in PHP:
- Numeric Arrays
- Associative Arrays
- Multidimensional Arrays
Let's learn about the differences between these types of arrays.
Numeric Arrays
Numeric arrays are arrays that use a number as the key. That is, when you want to store an item in the array, give it a number as the key and it will be stored there. Keep in mind that the first element in the array has an index of 0, not 1.
Let's define a numeric array:
<?php
$transportation[0] = 'car';
$transportation[1] = 'bike';
$transportation[2] = 'skates';
?>
Our array is named $transportation and the number in the brackets is the item's key. We set that to the value we want to store in the array.
We can also let PHP automatically fill in the keys in order by using this syntax:
<?php
$transportation = ['car', 'bike', 'skates'];
?>
The end result is the exact same thing. To get back an item from either array, simply call the array and pass in a key:
<?php
$transportation = ['car', 'bike', 'skates'];
echo($transportation[1]);
?>
bike
Associative Arrays
Associative arrays are very similar to numeric arrays except that instead of the keys being numbers, the keys are simply another value of some kind. This means that the value can be, for example, a string.
<?php
$schools['Bob'] = 'NYU';
$schools['Jack'] = 'Columbia';
$schools['Jasmine'] = 'Yale';
?>
Depending on the situation, you can also opt to define associative arrays in this syntax as well:
<?php
$schools = ['Bob' => 'NYU', 'Jack' => 'Columbia', 'Jasmine' => 'Yale'];
?>
As with before, getting back an array element is as easy as passing in the key.
<?php
$person = 'Jasmine';
$schools = ['Bob' => 'NYU', 'Jack' => 'Columbia', 'Jasmine' => 'Yale'];
echo($person . ' attends ' . $schools[$person]);
?>
Jasmine attends Yale
Checking for Existence of Keys
Sometimes you won't actually know if the associative array contains the key you want to access. If you try to access it anyways, you'll get an error. To avoid this, check for the existence of the key using the isset() function:
<?php
$person = 'Jasmine';
$schools = ['Bob' => 'NYU', 'Jack' => 'Columbia', 'Jasmine' => 'Yale'];
if (isset($schools[$person])) {
echo($person . ' attends ' . $schools[$person]);
} else {
// the key does not exist
}
?>
Jasmine attends Yale
The isset() function can be used on anything, not just for checking keys in an associative arrays. You can also check for the existence of variables in general that may have been defined in other files. The function will return a boolean indicating whether or not the variable exists and has a value.
Multidimensional Arrays
Multidimensional arrays is an array in which each element is an array itself. Following our earlier example, we can store an entire array of information, instead of just the name of the school they attend.
<?php
$students = [
[
'name' => 'Bob',
'school' => 'NYU',
'graduation' => 2019
],
[
'name' => 'Jack',
'school' => 'Columbia',
'graduation' => 2021
],
[
'name' => 'Jasmine',
'school' => 'Yale',
'graduation' => 2020
]
];
$student_id = 1;
$student = $students[$student_id];
echo($student['name'] . ' is attending ' . $student['school'] . ' and graduating in ' . $student['graduation']);
?>
Jack is attending Columbia and graduating in 2021
Alternatively, instead of using their student id as the key, you can also use their name:
<?php
$students = [
'Bob' => [
'school' => 'NYU',
'graduation' => 2019
],
'Jack' => [
'school' => 'Columbia',
'graduation' => 2021
],
'Jasmine' => [
'school' => 'Yale',
'graduation' => 2020
]
];
$student_name = 'Bob';
$student = $students[$student_name];
echo($student_name . ' is attending ' . $student['school'] . ' and graduating in ' . $student['graduation']);
?>
Bob is attending NYU and graduating in 2019
Functions
PHP provides us built-in functions that make working with arrays much easier. Let's take a look at a few of these.
print_r
The print_r, meaning to print in human-readable form, can print out the entire array for us.
<?php
$students = [
'Bob' => [
'school' => 'NYU',
'graduation' => 2019
],
'Jack' => [
'school' => 'Columbia',
'graduation' => 2021
],
'Jasmine' => [
'school' => 'Yale',
'graduation' => 2020
]
];
print_r($students);
?>
Array ( [Bob] => Array ( [school] => NYU [graduation] => 2019 ) [Jack] => Array ( [school] => Columbia [graduation] => 2021 ) [Jasmine] => Array ( [school] => Yale [graduation] => 2020 ) )
Sort
Sorting arrays in PHP can be complicated given how many functions there are for it, but once you find the one you need, it gets the job done. Here are just some of the sorting functions available to you:
sort(): Sorts a numeric array by key, low to high.rsort(): Sorts a numeric array by key, high to low.array_multisort(): Sorts multi-dimensional arrays by value.asort(): Sorts associative arrays by value, low to high.arsort(): Sorts associative arrays by value, high to low.ksort(): Sorts an array by key, low to high.krsort(): Sorts an array by key, high to low.
Let's sort our earlier array:
<?php
$students = [
'Bob' => [
'school' => 'NYU',
'graduation' => 2019
],
'Jack' => [
'school' => 'Columbia',
'graduation' => 2021
],
'Jasmine' => [
'school' => 'Yale',
'graduation' => 2020
]
];
arsort($students);
print_r($students);
?>
Array ( [Jasmine] => Array ( [school] => Yale [graduation] => 2020 ) [Bob] => Array ( [school] => NYU [graduation] => 2019 ) [Jack] => Array ( [school] => Columbia [graduation] => 2021 ) )
array_push
Use array_push() to append elements to the end of an array.
<?php
$colors = ['red', 'blue'];
array_push($colors, 'green', 'yellow');
print_r($colors);
?>
Array ( [0] => red [1] => blue [2] => green [3] => yellow )
array_pop
To remove and return the last element in an array, use array_pop().
<?php
$colors = ['red', 'blue', 'green', 'yellow'];
$last = array_pop($colors);
print_r($colors);
echo($last);
?>
Array ( [0] => red [1] => blue [2] => green )
yellow
array_shift
To instead remove the first element in an array, use array_shift().
<?php
$colors = ['red', 'blue', 'green', 'yellow'];
$first = array_shift($colors);
print_r($colors);
echo($first);
?>
Array ( [0] => blue [1] => green [2] => yellow )
red
array_unshift
To add an element to be beginning of an array, use array_unshift().
<?php
$colors = ['red', 'blue', 'green', 'yellow'];
array_unshift($colors, 'purple');
print_r($colors);
?>
Array ( [0] => purple [1] => red [2] => blue [3] => green [4] => yellow )
array_merge
To merge two or more arrays together, use array_merge().
<?php
$some_colors = ['red', 'blue', 'green', 'yellow'];
$more_colors = ['purple', 'brown', 'white'];
$colors = array_merge($some_colors, $more_colors);
print_r($colors);
?>
Array ( [0] => red [1] => blue [2] => green [3] => yellow [4] => purple [5] => brown [6] => white )
array_slice
You can return a selected part, or slice of an array using array_slice().
<?php
$colors = ['red', 'blue', 'green', 'yellow', 'orange'];
print_r(array_slice($colors, 1, 2));
?>
Array ( [0] => blue [1] => green )
The first parameter is the array you want to slice. The second parameter is the index you want to begin at. The third parameter is the number of elements you want returned back, or the new length.
array_splice
You can replace selected elements of an array with another array using array_splice().
<?php
$words = ['a' => 'apple', 'b' => 'book', 'c' => 'car', 'd' => 'dark'];
$replace = ['a' => 'amazing', 'b' => 'bacon'];
array_splice($words, 0, 2, $replace);
print_r($words);
?>
Array ( [0] => amazing [1] => bacon [c] => car [d] => dark )
explode
Use the explode() function to take a string and divide it up into an array of elements. Let's say you wanted to break up a text by a comma, also known as the delimiter:
<?php
$text = 'oh,say,can,you,see';
$words = explode(',', $text);
print_r($words);
?>
Array ( [0] => oh [1] => say [2] => can [3] => you [4] => see )
implode
The opposite of explode(), implode() takes an array of strings and returns a single new string, joined by whatever text you want, your delimiter.
<?php
$array = ['oh', 'say', 'can', 'you', 'see'];
$text = implode(',', $array);
print_r($text);
?>
oh,say,can,you,see
array_search
Search through an array via a value and get back the key it was associated with using array_search().
<?php
$colors = ['red', 'blue', 'green', 'yellow', 'orange'];
echo(array_search('green', $colors));
?>
2
The color green was found in the third spot which has an index of 2.
in_array
Simply put, the in_array function tells you if your value is in the array or not.
<?php
$colors = ['red', 'blue', 'green', 'yellow', 'orange'];
if (in_array('orange', $colors)) {
echo('Color found!');
} else {
echo('Color not found!');
}
?>
Color found!
array_unique
Remove all duplicate values from an array using array_unique().
<?php
$colors = ['red', 'blue', 'red', 'blue'];
print_r(array_unique($colors));
?>
Array ( [0] => red [1] => blue )
array_reverse
You can reverse the elements in an array using array_reverse.
<?php
$words = ['a' => 'apple', 'b' => 'book', 'c' => 'car', 'd' => 'dark'];
print_r(array_reverse($words));
?>
Array ( [d] => dark [c] => car [b] => book [a] => apple )
array_map
Use array_map when you want to apply a function to every element in an array to return a new array with them. For example, let's say you wanted to double every number in an array:
<?php
$numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
function double($number) {
return $number * 2;
}
print_r(array_map('double', $numbers));
?>
Array ( [0] => 2 [1] => 4 [2] => 6 [3] => 8 [4] => 10 )
array_filter
Use the array_filter function to keep or remove elements from an array depending on whether or not that element fulfills a condition you define. Let's say you only want odd numbers:
<?php
$numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
function odd($number) {
return $number % 2 == 1;
}
print_r(array_filter($numbers, 'odd'));
?>
Array ( [0] => 1 [2] => 3 [4] => 5 )
Your function returns true if the element should remain or false if the element should be filtered out.
array_reduce
The array_reduce function is useful for when you want to perform a single operation across an entire array and return a single end result. A perfect example is taking a sum of an array of numbers:
<?php
$numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
function sum($carry, $number) {
$carry += $number;
return $carry;
}
print_r(array_reduce($numbers, 'sum'));
?>
15
The way this function works is rather simple. The $carry variable carries over the value of the all the previous iterations. So when we call $carry += $number;, we are adding the current number's value, then returning it to be used in the next element's iteration.
