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array_splice

(PHP 4, PHP 5)

array_splice -- Remove a portion of the array and replace it with something else

Description

array array_splice ( array &input, int offset [, int length [, array replacement]] )

array_splice() removes the elements designated by offset and length from the input array, and replaces them with the elements of the replacement array, if supplied. It returns an array containing the extracted elements. Note that numeric keys in input are not preserved.

If offset is positive then the start of removed portion is at that offset from the beginning of the input array. If offset is negative then it starts that far from the end of the input array.

If length is omitted, removes everything from offset to the end of the array. If length is specified and is positive, then that many elements will be removed. If length is specified and is negative then the end of the removed portion will be that many elements from the end of the array. Tip: to remove everything from offset to the end of the array when replacement is also specified, use count($input) for length.

If replacement array is specified, then the removed elements are replaced with elements from this array. If offset and length are such that nothing is removed, then the elements from the replacement array are inserted in the place specified by the offset. Note that keys in replacement array are not preserved. If replacement is just one element it is not necessary to put array() around it, unless the element is an array itself.

The following statements change the values of $input the same way:

Table 1. array_splice() equivalents

array_push($input, $x, $y) array_splice($input, count($input), 0, array($x, $y))
array_pop($input) array_splice($input, -1)
array_shift($input) array_splice($input, 0, 1)
array_unshift($input, $x, $y) array_splice($input, 0, 0, array($x, $y))
$input[$x] = $y // for arrays where key equals offset array_splice($input, $x, 1, $y)

Returns the array consisting of removed elements.

Example 1. array_splice() examples

<?php
$input = array("red", "green", "blue", "yellow");
array_splice($input, 2);
// $input is now array("red", "green")

$input = array("red", "green", "blue", "yellow");
array_splice($input, 1, -1);
// $input is now array("red", "yellow")

$input = array("red", "green", "blue", "yellow");
array_splice($input, 1, count($input), "orange");
// $input is now array("red", "orange")

$input = array("red", "green", "blue", "yellow");
array_splice($input, -1, 1, array("black", "maroon"));
// $input is now array("red", "green",
//          "blue", "black", "maroon")

$input = array("red", "green", "blue", "yellow");
array_splice($input, 3, 0, "purple");
// $input is now array("red", "green",
//          "blue", "purple", "yellow");
?>

See also array_slice(), unset(), and array_merge().

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