PHP scan directory and array - php

Question

I have a script that scans a folder and put in an array the file names it contains.
Then I shuffle the array and display the file names.
Like this:
$count=0;
$ar=array();
$i=1;
$g=scandir('./images/');
foreach($g as $x)
{
if(is_dir($x))$ar[$x]=scandir($x);
else
{
$count++;
$ar[]=$x;
}
}
shuffle($ar);
while($i <= $count)
{
echo $ar[$i-1];
$i++;
}
?>
It works well but for some reason I get something like this:
fff.jpg
ccc.jpg
Array
nnn.jpg
ttt.jpg
sss.jpg
bbb.jpg
Array
eee.jpg
Of course, the order changes when I refresh the page because of the shuffle I did but among 200 filenames I always get these 2 "Array" somewhere in the list.
What could it be?
Thank you

Answer 1

Just to explain the part wherein it gives you the Array.
First off, scandir returns the following:
Returns an array of files and directories from the directory.
From that return values, it returned this (this is an example, for reference):
Array
(
[0] => . // current directory
[1] => .. // parent directory
[2] => imgo.jpg
[3] => logo.png
[4] => picture1.png
[5] => picture2.png
[6] => picture3.png
[7] => picture4.png
)
Those dots right there are actually folders. Right now in your code logic, when it hits/iterate this spot:
if(is_dir($x))$ar[$x]=scandir($x); // if its a directory
// invoke another set of scandir into this directory, then append it into the array
Thats why your resultant array has mixed strings, and that another extra/unneeded scandir array return values from ..
A dirty quick fix could be used in order to avoid those. Just skip the dots:
foreach($g as $x)
{
// skip the dots
if(in_array($x, array('..', '.'))) continue;
if(is_dir($x))$ar[$x]=scandir($x);
else
{
$count++;
$ar[]=$x;
}
}
Another alternative is to use DirectoryIterator:
$path = './images/';
$files = new DirectoryIterator($path);
$ar = array();
foreach($files as $file) {
if(!$file->isDot()) {
// if its not a directory
$ar[] = $file->getFilename();
}
}
echo '<pre>', print_r($ar, 1);