PHP Arrays
An array stores multiple values in one single variable:
What is an Array?
An array is a special variable that can hold many values under a single name, and you can access the values by referring to an index number or name.
PHP Array Types
In PHP, there are three types of arrays:
- Indexed arrays - Arrays with a numeric index
- Associative arrays - Arrays with named keys
- Multidimensional arrays - Arrays containing one or more arrays
Working With Arrays
In this tutorial you will learn how to work with arrays, including:
Array Items
Array items can be of any data type.
The most common are strings and numbers (int, float), but array items can also be objects, functions or even arrays.
You can have different data types in the same array.
Example
Array items of four different data types:
$myArr = array("Volvo", 15, ["apples", "bananas"], myFunction);
Array Functions
The real strength of PHP arrays are the built-in array functions, like the count()
function for counting array items:
Example
How many items are in the $cars array:
$cars = array("Volvo", "BMW", "Toyota");
echo count($cars);
For a complete reference of all array functions, go to our complete PHP Array Reference.
