PHP Array Functions
PHP has many predefined array functions that can be used to read and manipulate arrays. The following is a list of the available functions.
count() Function
The count() function will count all the elements in an array and return the total number.
<?php
$numbers = [8, 23, 15, 42, 16, 4];
// getting the number of elements
echo count($numbers); // 6
?>
max() Function
The max() function will find the highest value in an array if the only parameter provided is an array.
<?php
$numbers = [8, 23, 15, 42, 16, 4];
// getting highest element
echo max($numbers); // 42
?>
min() Function
The min() function will find the lowest value in an array if the only parameter provided is an array.
<?php
$numbers = [8, 23, 15, 42, 16, 4];
// getting the lowest element
echo min($numbers); // 4
?>
sort() Function
The sort() function will sort an array, in place, from lowest to highest.
NOTE
This is a destructive function and will change the array.
<?php
$numbers = [8, 23, 15, 42, 16, 4];
// sorting the array from lowest to highest
print_r(sort($numbers));
?>
rsort() Function
The rsort() function will sort an array, in place, from highest to lowest.
NOTE
This is a destructive function and will change the array.
<?php
$numbers = [8, 23, 15, 42, 16, 4];
// sorting the array from highest to lowest
print_r(rsort($numbers));
?>
implode() Function
The implode() function will join array elements with a string and return a string.
<?php
$numbers = [8, 23, 15, 42, 16, 4];
// join the array elements together to create a string
echo implode(" * ", $numbers);
?>
explode() Function
The explode() function will split a string by a delimiter and return an array.
<?php
$num_string = "8 * 23 * 15 * 42 * 16 * 4";
// split the string into an array
echo explode(" * ", $numbers);
?>
in_array() Function
The in_array() function will check if a value exists in an array. The function will return TRUE if the value is found, and FALSE if it is not.
<?php
$numbers = [8, 23, 15, 42, 16, 4];
// checking if 15 is in the array
echo in_array(15, $numbers); // TRUE
// checking if 19 is in the array
echo in_array(19, $numbers); // FALSE
?>
array_push() Function
The array_push() function will add one or more elements to the end of an array. The function will return the new number of elements.
<?php
$numbers = [8, 23, 15, 42, 16, 4];
// add 35 to the end of the array
echo array_push($numbers, 35); // 7
?>
array_pop() Function
The array_push() function will remove the element at the end of an array. The function will return the value of the last element (the element that was removed).
<?php
$numbers = [8, 23, 15, 42, 16, 4];
// remove the last item in the array
echo array_pop($numbers); // 4
?>