PHP Array
Arrays can store multiple values in a single variable:
Example
<?php $cars=array("Volvo","BMW","Toyota"); echo "I like " . $cars[0] . ", " . $cars[1] . " and " . $cars[2] . "."; ?>
What is an array?
An array is a special variable that can store multiple values in a single variable.
If you have a list of items (for example: a list of car names), store it into a single variable like this:
$cars1="Volvo";
$ cars2="BMW";
$cars3="Toyota";
However, what if you want to iterate through the array and find a specific one? What if the array has not just 3 items but 300?
The solution is to create an array!
Arrays can store multiple values in a single variable, and you can access the values within them based on their keys.
Creating arrays in PHP
In PHP, the array() function is used to create arrays:
array();
In PHP, There are three types of arrays:
· Numeric array – an array with numeric ID keys
· Associative array – an array with specified keys, each key is associated with a value
· Multi-dimensional array-including one or more arrays
# PHP numerical array
Here are two methods to create numerical arrays:
## Automatic allocation ID key (ID keys always start from 0): $cars=array("Volvo","BMW","Toyota");Manually assigned ID keys: $cars[0]="Volvo"; $cars[1]="BMW";
$cars[2]="Toyota";
<?php $cars=array("Volvo","BMW","Toyota"); echo "I like " . $cars[0] . ", " . $cars[1] . " and " . $cars[2] . "."; ?>
Get the length of the array - count() function
count() function is used to return the length of the array (number of elements): Example<?php $cars=array("Volvo","BMW","Toyota"); echo count($cars); ?>
Traverse the numerical array
Traverse and print all the values in the numeric array, you can use a for loop, as shown below: Example<?php $cars=array("Volvo","BMW","Toyota"); $arrlength=count($cars); for($x=0;$x<$arrlength;$x++) { echo $cars[$x]; echo "<br>"; } ?>
PHP Associative Array
Associative arrays are arrays using specified keys that you assign 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";
<?php $age=array("Peter"=>"35","Ben"=>"37","Joe"=>"43"); echo "Peter is " . $age['Peter'] . " years old."; ?>
Traverse the associative array
To traverse and print all values in an associative array, you can use a foreach loop as follows: Example<?php $age=array("Peter"=>"35","Ben"=>"37","Joe"=>"43"); foreach($age as $x=>$x_value) { echo "Key=" . $x . ", Value=" . $x_value; echo "<br>"; } ?>Next Section