Can't access elements in PHP associative arrays numerically (i.e. by index)?

Question

I am trying to understand why on my page with a query string, the code:

echo "Item count = " . count($_GET); echo "First item = " . $_GET[0]; 

Results in:

Number of items = 3 First item =

Are PHP associative arrays different from numeric arrays so their elements cannot be accessed by index? Thanks -

Answer 1

They can not. When you index a value by its key / index, it should exactly match.

If you really wanted to use the number keys, you can use array_values() in $_GET , but you will lose all information about the keys. You can also use array_keys() to get keys with numeric indices.

Alternatively, as Phil pointed out, you can reset() internal pointer to get the first one. You can also get the latter with end() . You can also put or change array_pop() and array_shift() , both will return a value after changing the array.

Answer 2

Yes, the key to an array element is either an integer (should not start with 0) or an associative key, and not both.

You can access the elements either using a loop like this:

 foreach ($_GET as $key => $value) { } 

Either get the values ​​as a numeric array, starting at key 0 with the array_values() function, or get the first value with reset() .

Answer 3

You can do it as follows:

 $keys = array_keys($_GET); echo "First item = " . $_GET[$keys[0]]; 

Answer 4

No, It is Immpossible.

Try the following:

file.php?foo=bar

file.php Contents:

 <?php print_r($_GET); ?> 

You are getting

 Array ( [foo] => bar ) 

If you want to access the element at 0, try file.php?0=foobar .

You can also use a foreach or for foreach and just break after the first element (or any other element you want to reach):

 foreach($_GET as $value){ echo($value); break; } 

Answer 5

No - they are matched by pairs of key values. You can repeat their KV pair into an indexed array:

 foreach($_GET as $key => $value) { $getArray[] = $value; } 

Now you can access the index values ​​in $ getArray.

Answer 6

As another weird workaround, you can access the very first element using:

  print $_GET[key($_GET)]; 

In this case, an internal array pointer is used, for example, reset / end / current (), which can be useful in the each() loop.