How to get this element from this array

Question

I have an array $arr that when I var_dump looks like this. What's the easiest way to get the 2nd last item ('simple' in this case). I can't do $arr[4] because the number of items may vary per url, and I always want just the 2nd last. (note that there's an extra empty string at the end, which will always be there.)

array
  0 => string 'http:' (length=5)
  1 => string '' (length=0)
  2 => string 'site.com'
  3 => string 'group'
  4 => string 'simple'
  5 => string 'some-test-url'
  6 => string '' (length=0)

Why not just ask "How do I get the last component of a URL in a string?" instead? — Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
– Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams, Commented Sep 29, 2011 at 21:20
Note that second to last and $arr[4] are not the same thing. Unless I'm crazy, I would think that $arr[4] is third to last. — Jason McCreary
– Jason McCreary, Commented Sep 29, 2011 at 21:23
@ Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams It's not the last. It's the 2nd last or even the 3rd last if you count the last empty string as an item. — sameold
– sameold, Commented Sep 29, 2011 at 21:23
As a side note but a very important one: if this is your structure, you should create a Url class for it. I'm sure you have functions that manipulate this array, so they should be methods of your url class. Our coding is often so lax in PHP; as a community we need to get better at using well-proven and structured techniques. — Levi Morrison
– Levi Morrison, Commented Sep 29, 2011 at 21:58

Jason McCreary · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-29 21:21:18Z

3

So long as it is not a keyed or hashed array and it has more than two items...

$arr[count($arr) - 2];

Note: that my interpretation of second to last is second from the end. This may differ from yours. If so, subtract 3.

answered Sep 29, 2011 at 21:21

Jason McCreary

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Comments

Icydog · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-29 21:21:28Z

2

Get the count and subtract 3?

$arr[count($arr)-3]

answered Sep 29, 2011 at 21:21

Icydog

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lsl · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-29 21:22:18Z

2

if (!empty($arr) && count($arr)>1){
  //or > 2, -3 for your extra ending
  $val = $arr[count($arr)-2];
}

Should help you.

answered Sep 29, 2011 at 21:22

lsl

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Casey Flynn · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-29 21:21:18Z

1

$second_last = count($array) - 3;

$value = $array[$second_last];

answered Sep 29, 2011 at 21:21

Casey Flynn

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iThink · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-29 21:22:59Z

1

$arrayLen=count($arr);
echo $arr[$arrayLen-2];

answered Sep 29, 2011 at 21:22

iThink

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Alix Axel · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-29 22:05:06Z

0

Yet another alternative:

echo current(array_slice($data, -3, 1));

answered Sep 29, 2011 at 22:05

Alix Axel

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