This might sounds like a silly question. How do I get the 1st value of an array without knowing in advance if the array is associative or not?
In order to get the 1st element of an array I thought to do this:
function Get1stArrayValue($arr) { return current($arr); }
is it ok?
Could it create issues if array internal pointer was moved before function call?
Is there a better/smarter/fatser way to do it?
Thanks!
A better idea may be to use reset which "rewinds array's internal pointer to the first element and returns the value of the first array element"
Example:
function Get1stArrayValue($arr) { return reset($arr); }
As #therefromhere pointed out in the comment below, this solution is not ideal as it changes the state of the internal pointer. However, I don't think it is much of an issue as other functions such as array_pop also reset it.
The main concern that it couldn't be used when iterating over an array isn't an problem as foreach operates on a copy of the array. The PHP manual states:
Unless the array is referenced, foreach operates on a copy of the specified array and not the array itself.
This can be shown using some simple test code:
$arr = array("a", "b", "c", "d");
foreach ( $arr as $val ){
echo reset($arr) . " - " . $val . "\n";
}
Result:
a - a
a - b
a - c
a - d
To get the first element for any array, you need to reset the pointer first.
http://ca3.php.net/reset
function Get1stArrayValue($arr) {
return reset($arr);
}
If you don't mind losing the first element from the array, you can also use
array_shift() - shifts the first value of the array off and returns it, shortening the array by one element and moving everything down. All numerical array keys will be modified to start counting from zero while literal keys won't be touched.
Or you could wrap the array into an ArrayIterator and use seek:
$array = array("foo" => "apple", "banana", "cherry", "damson", "elderberry");
$iterator = new ArrayIterator($array);
$iterator->seek(0);
echo $iterator->current(); // apple
If this is not an option either, use one of the other suggestions.
Related
I need to remove a element from an associative array with an string structure.
Example:
$array = array(
"one"=>array("Hello", "world"),
"two"=>"Hi"
)
I want to create a function that removes the elements like this:
function removeElement($p) {
// With the information provided in $p something like this should happen
// unset($array["one"]["hello"])
}
removeElement("one.hello");
Your base array is associative, the inner array (key one) is not, its a indexed array, which you can not access via ["hello"] but rather [0].
You can remove the hello value by using the unset function, but the indexes will stay as they are:
$array = ['Hello', 'World']; // array(0: Hello, 1: World)
unset($array[0]); // Array is now array(1: World)
If you wish to keep unset and keep the array indexes in order, you can fetch the values using the array_values function after unset:
unset($array[0]);
$array = array_values($array); // array(0: World)
Or you could use array_splice.
When it comes to using a string as key for multidimensional array with a dot-separator I'd recommend taking a look at laravels Arr::forget method which does pretty much exactly what you are asking about.
This would be a static solution to your question, in any case, you need to use explode.
function removeElement($p, $array) {
$_p = explode('.', $p);
return unset($array[$_p[0]][$_p[1]]);
}
But bear in mind, this doesn't work if you have more in $p (like: foo.bar.quux)
I have a need to check if the elements in an array are objects or something else. So far I did it like this:
if((is_object($myArray[0]))) { ... }
However, on occasion situations dictate that the input array does not have indexes that start with zero (or aren't even numeric), therefore asking for $myArray[0] will generate a Notice, but will also return the wrong result in my condition if the first array element actually is an object (but under another index).
The only way I can think of doing here is a foreach loop where I would break out of it right on the first go.
foreach($myArray as $element) {
$areObjects = (is_object($element));
break;
}
if(($areObjects)) { ... }
But I am wondering if there is a faster code than this, because a foreach loop seems unnecessary here.
you can use reset() function to get first index data from array
if(is_object(reset($myArray))){
//do here
}
You could get an array of keys and get the first one:
$keys = array_keys($myArray);
if((is_object($myArray[$keys[0]]))) { ... }
try this
reset($myArray);
$firstElement = current($myArray);
current gets the element in the current index, therefore you should reset the pointer of the array to the first element using reset
http://php.net/manual/en/function.current.php
http://php.net/manual/en/function.reset.php
I have an array that is associative that I have decoded from a json json_decode second value true and looks like
Array (
[test] => Array
(
[start] => 1358766000
[end] => 1358775000
[start_day] => 21
[end_day] => 21
)
)
But for some reason when I do $array[0] I get null? How can I get the array by index? Not by key name?
array_values() will give you all the values in an array with keys renumbered from 0.
The first level of the array is not numerical, it's an associative array. You need to do:
$array['test']['start']
Alternatively, to get the first element:
reset($array);
$first_key = key($array);
print_r($array[$first_key]);
You could use current.
$first = current($array); // get the first element (in your case, 'test')
var_dump($first);
This is by design . . . your JSON used a key (apparently test), which contained a JSON object. The keys are preserved when you do a json_decode. You can't access by index, though you could loop through the whole thing using a foreach.
From your comment, it sounds like you want to access previous and next elements from an associative array. I don't know a way to do this directly, but a hackish way would be as follows:
$testArr = array('a'=>'10', 'b'=>'2', 'c'=>'4');
// get numeric index of the element of interest
$keys = array_keys($testArr);
$i = array_search('b', $keys);
// get key of next element
$nextElementKey = $keys[$i+1];
// next element value
$nextElementValue = $testArry[$nextElementKey];
// get key of previous element
$prevElementKey = $keys[$i-1];
// prev value
$[prevElementValue = $testArry[$prevElementKey];
You'd probably want to add some error checking around the previous and next key calculations to handle the first and last values.
If you don't care about the data in the key, Ignacio's solution using array_keys is much more efficient.
In the PHP manual, (array_push) says..
If you use array_push() to add one element to the array it's better to
use $array[] = because in that way there is no overhead of calling a
function.
For example :
$arr = array();
array_push($arr, "stackoverflow");
print_r($arr);
vs
$arr[] = "stackoverflow";
print_r($arr);
I don't understand why there is a big difference.
When you call a function in PHP (such as array_push()), there are overheads to the call, as PHP has to look up the function reference, find its position in memory and execute whatever code it defines.
Using $arr[] = 'some value'; does not require a function call, and implements the addition straight into the data structure. Thus, when adding a lot of data it is a lot quicker and resource-efficient to use $arr[].
You can add more than 1 element in one shot to array using array_push,
e.g. array_push($array_name, $element1, $element2,...)
Where $element1, $element2,... are elements to be added to array.
But if you want to add only one element at one time, then other method (i.e. using $array_name[]) should be preferred.
The difference is in the line below to "because in that way there is no overhead of calling a function."
array_push() will raise a warning if the first argument is not
an array. This differs from the $var[] behaviour where a new array is
created.
You should always use $array[] if possible because as the box states there is no overhead for the function call. Thus it is a bit faster than the function call.
array_push — Push one or more elements onto the end of array
Take note of the words "one or more elements onto the end"
to do that using $arr[] you would have to get the max size of the array
explain:
1.the first one declare the variable in array.
2.the second array_push method is used to push the string in the array variable.
3.finally it will print the result.
4.the second method is directly store the string in the array.
5.the data is printed in the array values in using print_r method.
this two are same
both are the same, but array_push makes a loop in it's parameter which is an array and perform $array[]=$element
Thought I'd add to the discussion since I believe there exists a crucial difference between the two when working with indexed arrays that people should be aware of.
Say you are dynamically creating a multi-dimensional associative array by looping through some data sets.
$foo = []
foreach ($fooData as $fooKey => $fooValue) {
foreach ($fooValue ?? [] as $barKey => $barValue) {
// Approach 1: results in Error 500
array_push($foo[$fooKey], $barKey); // Error 500: Argument #1 ($array) must be of type array
// NOTE: ($foo[$fooKey] ?? []) argument won't work since only variables can be passed by reference
// Approach 2: fix problem by instantiating array beforehand if it didn't exist
$foo[$fooKey] ??= [];
array_push($foo[$fooKey], $barKey);
// Approach 3: One liner approach
$foo[$fooKey][] = $barKey; // Instantiates array if it doesn't exist
}
}
Without having $foo[$fooKey] instantiated as an array beforehand, we won't be able to do array_push without getting the Error 500. The shorthand $foo[$fooKey][] does the heavy work for us, checking if the provided element is an array, and if it isn't, it creates it and pushes the item in for us.
I know this is an old answer but it might be helpful for others to know that another difference between the two is that if you have to add more than 2/3 values per loop to an array it's faster to use:
for($i = 0; $i < 10; $i++){
array_push($arr, $i, $i*2, $i*3, $i*4, ...)
}
instead of:
for($i = 0; $i < 10; $i++){
$arr[] = $i;
$arr[] = $i*2;
$arr[] = $i*3;
$arr[] = $i*4;
...
}
edit- Forgot to close the bracket for the for conditional
No one said, but array_push only pushes a element to the END OF THE ARRAY, where $array[index] can insert a value at any given index. Big difference.
I'm trying to understand why, on my page with a query string,
the code:
echo "Item count = " . count($_GET);
echo "First item = " . $_GET[0];
Results in:
Item count = 3
First item =
Are PHP associative arrays distinct from numeric arrays, so that their items cannot be accessed by index? Thanks-
They can not. When you subscript a value by its key/index, it must match exactly.
If you really wanted to use numeric keys, you could use array_values() on $_GET, but you will lose all the information about the keys. You could also use array_keys() to get the keys with numerical indexes.
Alternatively, as Phil mentions, you can reset() the internal pointer to get the first. You can also get the last with end(). You can also pop or shift with array_pop() and array_shift(), both which will return the value once the array is modified.
Yes, the key of an array element is either an integer (must not be starting with 0) or an associative key, not both.
You can access the items either with a loop like this:
foreach ($_GET as $key => $value) {
}
Or get the values as an numerical array starting with key 0 with the array_values() function or get the first value with reset().
You can do it this way:
$keys = array_keys($_GET);
echo "First item = " . $_GET[$keys[0]];
Nope, it is not possible.
Try this:
file.php?foo=bar
file.php contents:
<?php
print_r($_GET);
?>
You get
Array
(
[foo] => bar
)
If you want to access the element at 0, try file.php?0=foobar.
You can also use a foreach or for loop and simply break after the first element (or whatever element you happen to want to reach):
foreach($_GET as $value){
echo($value);
break;
}
Nope -- they are mapped by key value pairs. You can iterate the they KV pair into an indexed array though:
foreach($_GET as $key => $value) {
$getArray[] = $value;
}
You can now access the values by index within $getArray.
As another weird workaround, you can access the very first element using:
print $_GET[key($_GET)];
This utilizes the internal array pointer, like reset/end/current(), could be useful in an each() loop.