PHP array_shift
Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn how to use the PHP array_shift() function to remove an array from the beginning of an array.
Introduction to the PHP array_shift function
The array_shift() function removes the first element from an array and returns it.
The following shows the syntax of the array_shift() function:
array_shift(array &$array): mixedCode language: PHP (php)
In this syntax, the $array is the input array from which you want to remove the first element.
If the $array is empty or is not an array, the array_shift() function returns null.
Note that the array_shift() function changes the input array by shortening it by one element. It also modifies numerical array keys so that the first element in the modified array has the key starting from zero.
To remove an element from the end of an array and return it, you use the array_pop() function.
PHP array_shift() function example
The following example uses the array_shift() function to remove the first element of an array:
$numbers = [1, 2, 3];
$first_number = array_shift($numbers);
print_r($numbers);
Code language: HTML, XML (xml)
Output:
Array
(
[0] => 2
[1] => 3
)Code language: PHP (php)
How it works.
- First, define an array that has three numbers 1, 2, and 3.
- Second, remove the first element of the
$numbersarray and assign it to the$first_numbervariable. - Third, show the elements of the
$numbersarray.
As you can see clearly from the output, the $numbers array is changed from 3 elements to 2 elements. In addition, the indexes of the $numbers array are also changed.
Since the array_shift() needs to reindex the array after removing the first element, the function will be quite slow if the input array is large.
Summary
- Use the PHP
array_shift()function to remove an array from the beginning of an array and return it.