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PHP array

Array can store multiple values ​​in a single variable:

Examples

<?php
$cars=array("Volvo","BMW","Toyota");
echo "I like " . $cars[0] . ", " . $cars[1] . " and " . $cars[2] . ".";
?>

Running instance »

What arrays are?

An array is a special variable multiple values ​​can be stored in a single variable.

If you have a list of items (for example: a list of car names), which is stored in a single variable, as follows:

$cars1="Volvo";
$cars2="BMW";
$cars3="Toyota";

However, if you want to loop through the array and find a specific one? If the item array of more than three but 300 it?

The solution is to create an array!

Arrays can store multiple values ​​in a single variable, and you can access the value based on the key.


Create an array in PHP

In PHP, array () function is used to create an array:

array();

In PHP, there are three types of arrays:

  • Numeric array - An array with a numeric ID key
  • Associative array - An array with the keys specified a value associated with each key
  • Multidimensional array - containing one or more arrays of arrays

PHP numeric array

There are two ways to create an array of numerical methods:

Automatically assigned ID key (key ID always starts at 0):

$cars=array("Volvo","BMW","Toyota");

Artificial assigned ID keys:

$cars[0]="Volvo";
$cars[1]="BMW";
$cars[2]="Toyota";

The following example creates a numeric array called $ cars and to assign an array of three elements, then print some text that contains an array of values:

Examples

<?php
$cars=array("Volvo","BMW","Toyota");
echo "I like " . $cars[0] . ", " . $cars[1] . " and " . $cars[2] . ".";
?>

Running instance »


Gets an array of length - count () function

count () function returns the length of the array (number of elements):

Examples

<?php
$cars=array("Volvo","BMW","Toyota");
echo count($cars);
?>

Running instance »


Numeric array traversal

Through and print all numeric values ​​in the array, you can use a for loop, as follows:

Examples

<?php
$cars=array("Volvo","BMW","Toyota");
$arrlength=count($cars);

for($x=0;$x<$arrlength;$x++)
{
echo $cars[$x];
echo "<br>";
}
?>

Running instance »


PHP associative array

Associative array is to use an array of the specified key you assigned to the array.

There are two ways to create associative arrays:

$age=array("Peter"=>"35","Ben"=>"37","Joe"=>"43");

or:

$age['Peter']="35";
$age['Ben']="37";
$age['Joe']="43";

You can then use the key specified in the script:

Examples

<?php
$age=array("Peter"=>"35","Ben"=>"37","Joe"=>"43");
echo "Peter is " . $age['Peter'] . " years old.";
?>

Running instance »


Traverse an associative array

Through and print all the values ​​in an associative array, you can use the foreach loop, as follows:

Examples

<?php
$age=array("Peter"=>"35","Ben"=>"37","Joe"=>"43");

foreach($age as $x=>$x_value)
{
echo "Key=" . $x . ", Value=" . $x_value;
echo "<br>";
}
?>

Running instance »


Multidimensional Arrays

Multidimensional arrays will be described in detail in the Advanced PHP tutorial section.


Complete PHP Array Reference

For a complete reference manual for all array functions, visit our PHP Array Reference Manual .

This reference manual provides a brief description of each function and application examples!