How to convert associative array to indexed array in php

PHP is a very powerful programming language, and it has many features that allow us to deal with various problems in development more conveniently. Associative arrays and index arrays are the two main array types in PHP, but sometimes we need to convert an associative array into an index array to facilitate data processing. In this article, we will explore how to convert an associative array into an indexed array in PHP.

Definition of associative arrays and index arrays

In PHP, arrays are a very commonly used data type. We can think of a PHP array as a numbered box. Each number has a value. This value can be any data type, such as string, integer, floating point, Boolean, etc. Generally speaking, there are two types of PHP arrays: associative arrays and indexed arrays.

Associative array is an array type with string as subscript, also known as associative array. We can access the elements in the array by key name (or key value) rather than by numerical subscript. For example:

$person = [
    "name" => "Tom",
    "age" => 25,
    "gender" => "male"
];

In this example, we define an associative array named $person, where the key names are "name", "age", and "gender", and the corresponding key values ​​are "Tom", 25 and "male".

In contrast, an indexed array is an array type dominated by numeric subscripts, also known as a numeric array. Array elements can be accessed through numeric subscripts. For example:

$languages = ["PHP", "Java", "Python", "C++"];

In this example, we define an index array named $languages, where each element is a string type programming language name, and the subscripts start from 0, respectively. ,1,2,3.

As you can see, there are big differences in the definition and access methods of associative arrays and index arrays. Therefore, in an application, it is sometimes necessary to convert an associative array into an index array to adapt to specific application scenarios.

How to convert an associative array into an index array

In PHP, an associative array can be converted into an index array through the array_values() function. This function accepts an associative array as a parameter and returns a new indexed array of all values ​​in it. For example:

$person = [
    "name" => "Tom",
    "age" => 25,
    "gender" => "male"
];

$person_values = array_values($person);

In this example, we use the array_values() function to convert $person into an indexed array named $person_values. The values ​​of this new array are all the values ​​in the original array, and the key names are ignored. In this case, $person_values ​​will become the following array:

["Tom", 25, "male"]

The same method also applies to multidimensional associative arrays, using the array_values() function to convert a multidimensional associative array into a multidimensional indexed array.

It should be noted that in PHP, if you use the unset() function to delete an element in the array, re-index the elements in the array after using the array_values() function.

Summary

In this article, we discussed how to convert an associative array to an indexed array in PHP. During the development process, this is an important step in realizing a specific application scenario. By using the array_values() function, we can quickly convert an associative array into an indexed array, while retaining all the original data in the process. These tips help us better understand PHP and deal with different data types and data structures during development.

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