PHP: array - Manual

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If you are new to PHP or just need to refresh your skills, this is the place to start. This series of tutorials will give you the basic knowledge you will need to create a simple PHP website.

PHP is a reflective programming language originally designed for producing dynamic web pages.[1] PHP is used mainly in server-side scripting, but can be used from a command line interface or in standalone graphical applications. Textual User Interfaces can also be created using ncurses.

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array

Description

array array ( [mixed ...] )

Returns an array of the parameters. The parameters can be given an index with the => operator. Read the section on the array type for more information on what an array is.

Note: array() is a language construct used to represent literal arrays, and not a regular function.

Syntax "index => values", separated by commas, define index and values. index may be of type string or numeric. When index is omitted, an integer index is automatically generated, starting at 0. If index is an integer, next generated index will be the biggest integer index + 1. Note that when two identical index are defined, the last overwrite the first.

Having a trailing comma after the last defined array entry, while unusual, is a valid syntax.

The following example demonstrates how to create a two-dimensional array, how to specify keys for associative arrays, and how to skip-and-continue numeric indices in normal arrays.

Example 1. array() example


<?php
$fruits = array (
    "fruits"  => array("a" => "orange", "b" => "banana", "c" => "apple"),
    "numbers" => array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6),
    "holes"   => array("first", 5 => "second", "third")
);
?>

Example 2. Automatic index with array()


<?php
$array = array(1, 1, 1, 1,  1, 8 => 1,  4 => 1, 19, 3 => 13);
print_r($array);
?>

The above example will output:


Array
(
    [0] => 1
    [1] => 1
    [2] => 1
    [3] => 13
    [4] => 1
    [8] => 1
    [9] => 19
)

Note that index '3' is defined twice, and keep its final value of 13. Index 4 is defined after index 8, and next generated index (value 19) is 9, since biggest index was 8.

This example creates a 1-based array.

Example 3. 1-based index with array()


<?php
$firstquarter = array(1 => 'January', 'February', 'March');
print_r($firstquarter);
?>

The above example will output:

Array
(
    [1] => January
    [2] => February
    [3] => March
)

As in Perl, you can access a value from the array inside double quotes. However, with PHP you'll need to enclose your array between curly braces.

Example 4. Accessing an array inside double quotes


<?php

$foo = array('bar' => 'baz');
echo "Hello {$foo['bar']}!"; // Hello baz!

?>

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