PHP array() Function

Definition and Usage

The array() function is used to create a PHP array. This function can be used to create indexed arrays or associative arrays. PHP arrays could be single dimensional or multi-dimensional.

Syntax

Syntax to create PHP indexed arrays:

$a = array(value1, value2, value3, ...)

Syntax to create PHP associative arrays:

$a = array(key1 => value1, key2 => value2...)

Parameters

Return Values

This function returns an array of the parameters.

PHP Version

This function was first introduced as part of core PHP 4.0.0.

<?php
   $abc = array();
   print_r($abc);
?>

Array ()

Example

Following example creates a PHP indexed array with few elements:

<?php
   $abc = array("A", "B", "C");
   print_r($abc);
?>

This will produce following result −

Array
(
    [0] => A
    [1] => B
    [2] => C
)

Example

Following example creates a PHP associative array with numbers as keys:

<?php
   $abc = array(1 => "One", 2 => "Two", 3 => "Three");
   print_r($abc);
?>

This will produce following result −

Array
(
    [1] => One
    [2] => Two
    [3] => Three
)

Example

Following example creates a PHP associative array with string as keys:

<?php
   $abc = array("one" => "One", "two" => "Two", "three" => "Three");
   print_r($abc);
?>

This will produce following result −

Array
(
    [one] => One
    [two] => Two
    [three] => Three
)

Example

Following example shows how to add more values in an existing PHP Array:

<?php
   $abc = array(1 => "One", 2 => "Two", 3 => "Three");
   print_r($abc);
   
   /* Add two more value in above array */
   $abc[4] = "Four";
   $abc[5] = "Five";
   print_r($abc);
?>

This will produce following result −

Array
(
    [1] => One
    [2] => Two
    [3] => Three
)

Array
(
    [1] => One
    [2] => Two
    [3] => Three
    [4] => Four
    [5] => Five
)

Example

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.

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

This will produce following result −

Array
(
    [fruits] => Array
        (
            [a] => orange
            [b] => banana
            [c] => apple
        )

    [numbers] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
            [1] => 2
            [2] => 3
            [3] => 4
            [4] => 5
            [5] => 6
        )

    [holes] => Array
        (
            [0] => first
            [5] => second
            [6] => third
        )

)

Example

To delete an individual array element or complete array, you can use the unset()function:

<?php
   $abc = array(1 => "One", 2 => "Two", 3 => "Three");
   print_r($abc);

   /* Now let's delete element with index 2*/
   unset( $abc[2] );
   print_r($abc);
   
   /* Now let's delete complete array */
   unset($abc);
   print_r($abc);
?>

This will produce following result −

Array
(
    [1] => One
    [2] => Two
    [3] => Three
)

Array
(
    [1] => One
    [3] => Three
)

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