convert sub-arrays with only one value to a string - php

Question

I have a multidimensional array, the sub-arrays consist of further values, I would like for all sub-arrays that only have one value to be converted into a string. How can I successfully scan through a multidimensional array to get the result?
Below is a small section of the array as it is now.
[1] => Array
(
[name] => Array
(
[0] => Person's name
)
[organisation] => Array
(
[0] => This is their organisation
[1] => aka something else
)
[address] => Array
(
[0] => The street name
[1] => The town name
)
[e-mail] => Array
(
[0] => test#this.site.com
)
)
and here is how I would like it to end up
[1] => Array
(
[name] => Person's name
[organisation] => Array
(
[0] => This is their organisation
[1] => aka something else
)
[address] => Array
(
[0] => The street name
[1] => The town name
)
[e-mail] => test#this.site.com
)

Answer 1

This should do the trick.
function array2string(&$v){
if(is_array($v) && count($v)==1){
$v = $v[0];
}
}
array_walk($array, 'array2string');
Or as a one-liner, since I'm nuts.
array_walk($array, create_function('&$v', 'if(is_array($v) && count($v)==1){$v = $v[0];}'));
EDIT: It looks like that array is an element in a bigger array. You need to put this function inside of a foreach loop.
function array2string(&$v){
if(is_array($v) && count($v)==1){
$v = $v[0];
}
}
foreach($array as &$val){
array_walk($val, 'array2string');
}
Or using my crazy create_function one-liner.
foreach($array as &$val){
array_walk($val, create_function('&$v', 'if(is_array($v) && count($v)==1){$v = $v[0];}'));
}

Answer 2

This should work no matter how deep the array is.
Put this function in your code:
function array2string(&$v){
if(is_array($v)){
if(count($v, COUNT_RECURSIVE) == 1){
$v = $v[0];
return;
}
array_walk($v, 'array2string');
}
}
Then do this:
array_walk($array, 'array2string');

Answer 3

This PHP 5.3 code uses a closure. You can use a named function, too, if you want. It specifically checks for strings, and calls itself for nested arrays.
<?php
array_walk($array, $walker = function (&$value, $key) use (&$walker) {
if (is_array($value)) {
if (count($value) === 1 && is_string($value[0])) {
$value = $value[0];
} else {
array_walk($value, $walker);
}
}
});