PHP Array Functions

11/22/2025
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PHP Array Functions array_pop

PHP Array Functions

PHP Array Functions: A Complete Guide for Beginners

PHP provides a rich collection of built-in array functions that make it easy to work with, manipulate, and transform arrays. Whether you're working with indexed, associative, or multidimensional arrays, these functions help you perform tasks like sorting, merging, searching, slicing, filtering, and more.

This guide covers the most important PHP array functions with simple explanations and developer-friendly examples.

1. count() – Count Array Elements

Returns the number of elements in an array.

$fruits = ["Apple", "Banana", "Orange"];
echo count($fruits); // 3

2. array_push() – Add Elements at the End

Adds one or more elements to the end of an array.

$colors = ["Red", "Green"];
array_push($colors, "Blue", "Yellow");

3. array_pop() – Remove Last Element

Removes and returns the last element of an array.

$numbers = [10, 20, 30];
$last = array_pop($numbers); // 30

4. array_shift() – Remove First Element

Removes and returns the first element.

$names = ["Amit", "Ravi", "Sneha"];
$first = array_shift($names); // Amit

5. array_unshift() – Add Elements at the Beginning

$names = ["Ravi", "Sneha"];
array_unshift($names, "Amit");

6. sort() – Sort Array in Ascending Order

Useful for indexed arrays.

$fruits = ["Mango", "Apple", "Banana"];
sort($fruits);

7. rsort() – Sort in Descending Order

$numbers = [50, 10, 30];
rsort($numbers);

8. asort() – Sort Associative Array by Value (Ascending)

$marks = ["Amit" => 80, "Sneha" => 90];
asort($marks);

9. ksort() – Sort Associative Array by Key (Ascending)

$marks = ["Rahul" => 85, "Amit" => 90];
ksort($marks);

10. in_array() – Check If Value Exists

$colors = ["Red", "Blue", "Green"];
if (in_array("Blue", $colors)) echo "Found";

11. array_key_exists() – Check If Key Exists

$user = ["name" => "Shubham", "city" => "Pune"];
if (array_key_exists("city", $user)) echo "Key exists";

12. array_keys() – Get All Keys

$user = ["name" => "Amit", "age" => 25];
print_r(array_keys($user));

13. array_values() – Get All Values

print_r(array_values($user));

14. array_merge() – Merge Arrays

$a = ["Red", "Blue"];
$b = ["Green", "Yellow"];
$merged = array_merge($a, $b);

15. array_slice() – Extract Portion of Array

$fruits = ["Apple", "Banana", "Orange", "Mango"];
print_r(array_slice($fruits, 1, 2)); // Banana, Orange

16. array_splice() – Remove and Replace Elements

$fruits = ["Apple", "Banana", "Orange"];
array_splice($fruits, 1, 1, "Mango");

17. array_search() – Search Value and Return Key

$fruits = ["a" => "Apple", "b" => "Banana"];
echo array_search("Banana", $fruits); // b

18. array_unique() – Remove Duplicate Values

$numbers = [10, 20, 20, 30, 10];
print_r(array_unique($numbers));

19. implode() – Convert Array to String

$names = ["Amit", "Ravi", "Sneha"];
echo implode(", ", $names);

20. explode() – Convert String to Array

$data = "Amit,Ravi,Sneha";
print_r(explode(",", $data));

21. array_map() – Apply Function to Every Element

$numbers = [1, 2, 3];
$double = array_map(fn($n) => $n * 2, $numbers);

22. array_filter() – Filter Elements Based on Condition

$numbers = [10, 25, 30, 40];
$filtered = array_filter($numbers, fn($n) => $n > 20);

23. array_reduce() – Reduce Array to a Single Value

$numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4];
$sum = array_reduce($numbers, fn($carry, $item) => $carry + $item, 0);

Real-World Example: Shopping Cart Total

$cart = [
    ["item" => "Laptop", "price" => 55000],
    ["item" => "Mouse", "price" => 799]
];

$total = array_reduce($cart, fn($sum, $p) => $sum + $p['price'], 0);

echo "Total Price: ₹" . $total;

Conclusion

PHP offers dozens of array functions that make handling data easy, efficient, and powerful. Mastering these functions will help you write cleaner, faster, and more organized PHP code.

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