PHP Add Array Items

PHP Add Array Items

In PHP, you can add array items with several different methods:

• [] - adds a single item to the end of an array
• array_push() - adds one or more items to the end of an array
• array_unshift() - adds one or more items to the beginning of an array
• array_splice() - removes a portion of an array and replaces it with new elements
• array_merge() - merges two or more arrays

Add a Single Array Item

To add a single array item to the end of an existing array, use the bracket [] syntax.

$fruits = array("Apple", "Banana", "Cherry");
$fruits[] = "Orange";
var_dump($fruits);

You can of course add more array items to the end of an existing array, with the bracket [] syntax. But you have to add one by one:

$fruits = array("Apple", "Banana", "Cherry");
$fruits[] = "Orange";
$fruits[] = "Pear";
var_dump($fruits);

Associative Arrays

To add items to the end of an associative array, use the brackets [] for the key, and assign a value with the = operator.

$cars = array("brand" => "Ford", "model" => "Mustang");
$cars["color"] = "Red";
var_dump($cars);

PHP array_push() Function

The array_push() function is used to add one or more array items to the end of an existing array.

$fruits = array("Apple", "Banana", "Cherry");
array_push($fruits, "Orange", "Kiwi", "Lemon");
var_dump($fruits);

Add Multiple Items to Associative Arrays

To add multiple items to an existing associative array, you can use the += operator.

$cars = array("brand" => "Ford", "model" => "Mustang");
$cars += ["color" => "red", "year" => 1964];
var_dump($cars);

PHP array_unshift() Function

The array_unshift() function is used to add one or more array items to the beginning of an existing array.

$fruits = array("Apple", "Banana", "Cherry");
array_unshift($fruits, "Orange", "Kiwi", "Lemon");
var_dump($fruits);

PHP array_splice() Function

The array_splice() function is used remove a portion of an array and replace it with new items.

If you specify an offset and a length of 0 (nothing to remove), you can insert an item at that position.

$fruits = array("Apple", "Banana", "Cherry");
$new_fruit = "Orange";
array_splice($fruits, 1, 0, $new_fruit); // insert "Orange" at index 1
var_dump($fruits);

PHP array_merge() Function

The array_merge() function is used to merge two or more arrays.

$fruits1 = array("Apple", "Banana");
$fruits2 = array("Cherry", "Orange");
$result = array_merge($fruits1, $fruits2);
var_dump($result);