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    array_unshift

    (PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8)

    array_unshift — Prepend one or more elements to the beginning of an array

    Description

    array_unshift(array &$array, mixed ...$values): int

    array_unshift() prepends passed elements to the front of the array. Note that the list of elements is prepended as a whole, so that the prepended elements stay in the same order. All numerical array keys will be modified to start counting from zero while literal keys won't be changed.

    Note:

    Resets array's internal pointer to the first element.

    Parameters

    array

    The input array.

    values

    The values to prepend.

    Return Values

    Returns the new number of elements in the array.

    Changelog

    Version Description
    7.3.0 This function can now be called with only one parameter. Formerly, at least two parameters have been required.

    Examples

    Example #1 array_unshift() example

    <?php
    $queue     = [
    "orange",
    "banana"
    ];

    array_unshift($queue, "apple", "raspberry");
    var_dump($queue);
    ?>

    The above example will output:

    array(4) {
  [0] =>
  string(5) "apple"
  [1] =>
  string(9) "raspberry"
  [2] =>
  string(6) "orange"
  [3] =>
  string(6) "banana"
}

    Example #2 Usage with associative arrays

    If one associative array is prepended to another associative array, the prepended array is numerically indexed into the former array.

    <?php
    $foods     = [
    'apples' => [
    'McIntosh' => 'red',
    'Granny Smith' => 'green',
    ],
    'oranges' => [
    'Navel' => 'orange',
    'Valencia' => 'orange',
    ],
    ];
    $vegetables = [
    'lettuce' => [
    'Iceberg' => 'green',
    'Butterhead' => 'green',
    ],
    'carrots' => [
    'Deep Purple Hybrid' => 'purple',
    'Imperator' => 'orange',
    ],
    'cucumber' => [
    'Kirby' => 'green',
    'Gherkin' => 'green',
    ],
    ];

    array_unshift($foods, $vegetables);
    var_dump($foods);

    The above example will output:

    array(3) {
  [0] =>
  array(3) {
    'lettuce' =>
    array(2) {
      'Iceberg' =>
      string(5) "green"
      'Butterhead' =>
      string(5) "green"
    }
    'carrots' =>
    array(2) {
      'Deep Purple Hybrid' =>
      string(6) "purple"
      'Imperator' =>
      string(6) "orange"
    }
    'cucumber' =>
    array(2) {
      'Kirby' =>
      string(5) "green"
      'Gherkin' =>
      string(5) "green"
    }
  }
  'apples' =>
  array(2) {
    'McIntosh' =>
    string(3) "red"
    'Granny Smith' =>
    string(5) "green"
  }
  'oranges' =>
  array(2) {
    'Navel' =>
    string(6) "orange"
    'Valencia' =>
    string(6) "orange"
  }
}

    See Also

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    ＋add a note

    User Contributed Notes 12 notes

    up
    211
    sergei at gmx dot net
    17 years ago
    You can preserve keys and unshift an array with numerical indexes in a really simple way if you'll do the following:

    <?php
    $someArray    =array(224=>'someword1', 228=>'someword2', 102=>'someword3', 544=>'someword3',95=>'someword4');

    $someArray=array(100=>'Test Element 1 ',255=>'Test Element 2')+$someArray;
    ?>

    now the array looks as follows:

    array(
    100=>'Test Element 1 ',
    255=>'Test Element 2'
    224=>'someword1',
    228=>'someword2',
    102=>'someword3',
    544=>'someword3',
    95=>'someword4'
    );
    up
    37
    rsmith_NOSPAM_ at _NOSPAM_unitec dot ac dot nz
    22 years ago
    array_merge() will also reindex (see array_merge() manual entry), but the '+' operator won't, so...

    <?php
    $arrayone    =array("newkey"=>"newvalue") + $arrayone;
    ?>

    does the job.
    up
    35
    Anonymous
    13 years ago
    Sahn's example almost works but has a small error. Try it like this if you need to prepend something to the array without the keys being reindexed and/or need to prepend a key value pair, you can use this short function:

    <?php
    function array_unshift_assoc(&$arr, $key, $val)
    {
    $arr = array_reverse($arr, true);
    $arr[$key] = $val;
    return =     array_reverse($arr, true);
    }
    ?>
    up
    10
    daniel at smallboxcms dot com
    9 years ago
    Anonymous' associative version wasn't working for me, but it did with this small tweak:

    function array_unshift_assoc(&$arr, $key, $val)
    {
    $arr = array_reverse($arr, true);
    $arr[$key] = $val;
    $arr = array_reverse($arr, true);
    return $arr;
    }
    up
    2
    amschroeder at gmail dot com
    17 years ago
    This becomes a nice little problem if you index your arrays out of order (while manually sorting). For example:

    <?php
    $recordMonths    [3] = '8/%/2006';
    $recordMonths[4] = '7/%/2004';
    $recordMonths[0] = '3/%/2007';
    $recordMonths[1] = '2/%/2007';
    $recordMonths[5] = '12/%/2000';
    $recordMonths[6] = '11/%/2000';
    $recordMonths[7] = '10/%/2000';
    $recordMonths[2] = '1/%/2007';

    for(    $i = 0; $i < count($recordMonths); $i++)
    {
    $singleMonth = $recordMonths[$i];
    echo     "singleMonth: $singleMonth <br />";
    }
    array_unshift($recordMonths,'%');
    for(    $i = 0; $i < count($recordMonths); $i++)
    {
    $singleMonth = $recordMonths[$i];
    echo     "singleMonth: $singleMonth <br />";
    }
    ?>

    Produces:

    singleMonth: 3/%/2007
    singleMonth: 2/%/2007
    singleMonth: 1/%/2007
    singleMonth: 8/%/2006
    singleMonth: 7/%/2004
    singleMonth: 12/%/2000
    singleMonth: 11/%/2000
    singleMonth: 10/%/2000
    singleMonth: %
    singleMonth: 8/%/2006
    singleMonth: 7/%/2004
    singleMonth: 3/%/2007
    singleMonth: 2/%/2007
    singleMonth: 12/%/2000
    singleMonth: 11/%/2000
    singleMonth: 10/%/2000
    singleMonth: 1/%/2007

    It reindexes them based on the order they were created. It seems like if an array has all numeric indexes, then it should reindex them based on the order of their index. Just my opinion...
    up
    2
    php at electricsurfer dot com
    20 years ago
    even simpler unshifting of a reference !
    <?php
    /**
    * @return int
    * @param $array array
    * @param $value mixed
    * @desc Prepend a reference to an element to the beginning of an array. Renumbers numeric keys, so $value is always inserted to $array[0]
    */
    function array_unshift_ref(&$array, &$value)
    {
    $return = array_unshift($array,'');
    $array[0] =& $value;
    return     $return;
    }
    ?>
    up
    2
    robert dot wills at fuzzbrain dot uklinux dot net
    22 years ago
    Actually this problem with the keys getting reindexed only happens when the keys are numerical:

    <?php

    $a     = array("f"=>"five", "s" =>"six", "t" =>
    "twenty");

    print_r($a);
    echo     "\n";
    foreach(    $a as $key=>$val)
    {
    echo     "k: $key v: $val \n";
    }

    array_unshift($a, "zero");
    print_r($a);
    echo     "\n";
    foreach(    $a as $key=>$val)
    {
    echo     "k: $key v: $val \n";
    }
    ?>

    Array
    (
    [f] => five
    [s] => six
    [t] => twenty
    )

    k: f v: five
    k: s v: six
    k: t v: twenty
    Array
    (
    [0] => zero
    [f] => five
    [s] => six
    [t] => twenty
    )

    k: 0 v: zero
    k: f v: five
    k: s v: six
    k: t v: twenty
    up
    0
    eliasritter168667 at gmail dot com
    1 year ago
    This function helps if you want to prepend a key and value pair to the beginning of an array:

    function array_kunshift(array $array, string|int $key, mixed $value): array {
    return array_merge([$key => $value], $array);
    }
    up
    0
    Richard Akindele
    8 years ago
    Another way to tack something to the beginning of an array is with array_merge().

    $plans = array('AARP'=>'Senior', 'AAA'=>'Automobile Club');

    $plans = array_merge(array("BAR"=>"Best Available Rate"), $plans);
    up
    -1
    chris dot NoThxSpam dot given at hp dot com
    21 years ago
    If you need to change the name of a key without changing its position in the array this function may be useful.

    <?php
    function array_key_change($Old, $New, $In, $NewVal=NULL) {
    $Temp = array();
    while(isset(    $Temp[$Old]) == false) {
    list(    $k, $v) = each($In);
    $Temp[$k] = $v;
    unset(    $In[$k]);
    }
    if(    $NewVal == NULL) {
    $NewVal = $Temp[$Old];
    }
    unset(    $Temp[$Old]);
    $Temp = array_reverse($Temp);
    $In = array_merge(array($New=>$NewVal), $In);
    while(list(    $k,$v) = each($Temp)) {
    $In = array_merge(array($k=>$v), $In);
    }
    return(    $In);
    }
    ?>
    up
    -2
    sahn at hmc dot edu
    23 years ago
    If you need to prepend something to the array without the keys being reindexed and/or need to prepend a key value pair, you can use this short function:

    <?php
    function array_unshift_assoc(&$arr, $key, $val)
    {
    $arr = array_reverse($arr, true);
    $arr[$key] = $val;
    $arr = array_reverse($arr, true);
    return     count($arr);
    }
    ?>
    up
    -5
    John Brooking
    18 years ago
    I had a need tonight to convert a numeric array from 1-based to 0-based, and found that the following worked just fine due to the "side effect" of renumbering:

    <?php
    array_unshift    ( $myArray, array_shift( $myArray ));
    ?>
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