PHP array_splice() Function

Example

Remove elements from an array and replace it with new elements:

<?php
$a1=array("a"=>"red","b"=>"green","c"=>"blue","d"=>"yellow");
$a2=array("a"=>"purple","b"=>"orange");
array_splice($a1,0,2,$a2);
print_r($a1);
?>

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Definition and Usage

The array_splice() function removes selected elements from an array and replaces it with new elements. The function also returns an array with the removed elements.

Tip: If the function does not remove any elements (length=0), the replaced array will be inserted from the position of the start parameter (See Example 2).

Note: The keys in the replaced array are not preserved.

Syntax

array_splice( array, start, length, array)

Parameter Values

Parameter	Description
array	Required. Specifies an array
start	Required. Numeric value. Specifies where the function will start removing elements. 0 = the first element. If this value is set to a negative number, the function will start that far from the last element. -2 means start at the second last element of the array.
length	Optional. Numeric value. Specifies how many elements will be removed, and also length of the returned array. If this value is set to a negative number, the function will stop that far from the last element. If this value is not set, the function will remove all elements, starting from the position set by the start-parameter.
array	Optional. Specifies an array with the elements that will be inserted to the original array. If it's only one element, it can be a string, and does not have to be an array.

Technical Details

Return Value:	Returns the array consisting of the extracted elements
PHP Version:	4+

More Examples

Example 1

The same example as the example on top of the page, but the output is the returned array:

<?php
$a1=array("a"=>"red","b"=>"green","c"=>"blue","d"=>"yellow");
$a2=array("a"=>"purple","b"=>"orange");
print_r(array_splice($a1,0,2,$a2));
?>

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Example 2

With the length parameter set to 0:

<?php
$a1=array("0"=>"red","1"=>"green");
$a2=array("0"=>"purple","1"=>"orange");
array_splice($a1,1,0,$a2);
print_r($a1);
?>

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❮ PHP Array Reference