Loop an array of array

Question

in PHP, how can i loop an array of array without know if is or not an array?

Better with an example:

Array
(
    [0] => Array
        (
            [0] => big
            [1] => small
        )

    [1] => Array
        (
            [0] => big
            [1] => tiny
        )

    [2] => Array
        (
            [0] => a
            [1] => b
            [2] => c
            [3] => d
            [4] => e
            [5] => f
        )
    [3] => row
    [4] => cols
    [5] => blablabla
    [6] => Array
        (
            [0] => asd
            [1] => qwe
        )
}

any idea? thanks.

Felix Kling · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-08 18:14:35Z

4

Which approach to choose depends on what you want to do with the data.

array_walk_recursive ^[docs] lets you traverse an array of arrays recursively.

answered Nov 8, 2011 at 18:14

Felix Kling

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Comments

aziz punjani · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-10 23:36:11Z

4

You can use is_array to check if that element is an array, if it is, loop over it recursively.

edited Mar 10, 2012 at 23:36

answered Nov 8, 2011 at 18:12

aziz punjani

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Comments

Community · Accepted Answer · 2023-11-17 19:32:19Z

1

You can use is_array to check if something is an array, and/or you can use is_object to check if it can be used within foreach:

foreach ($arr as $val)
{
    if (is_array($val) || is_object($val)) 
    {
        foreach ($val as $subval)
        {
            echo $subval;
        }
    }
    else
    {
        echo $val;
    }
}

Another alternative is to use a RecursiveIteratorIterator:

$it = new RecursiveIteratorIterator(
           new RecursiveArrayIterator($arr),
           RecursiveIteratorIterator::SELF_FIRST);

foreach($it as $value)
{
   # ... (each value)
}

The recursive iterator works for multiple levels in depth.

edited Nov 17, 2023 at 19:32

CommunityBot

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answered Nov 8, 2011 at 18:17

hakre

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Comments

Community · Accepted Answer · 2023-11-17 20:29:45Z

0

foreach( $array as $value ) {
    if( is_array( $value ) ) {
        foreach( $value as $innerValue ) {
            // do something
        }
    }
}

That would work if you know it will be a maximum of 2 levels of nested array. If you don't know how many levels of nesting then you will need to use recursion. Or you can use a function such as array_walk_recursive

edited Nov 17, 2023 at 20:29

CommunityBot

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answered Nov 8, 2011 at 18:15

liquorvicar

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Comments

Francis Yaconiello · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-08 18:17:20Z

0

$big_array = array(...);
function loopy($array)
{
    foreach($array as $element)
    {
        if(is_array($element))
        {
            // Keep looping -- IS AN ARRAY--
            loopy($element);
        }
        else
        {
            // Do something for this element --NOT AN ARRAY--
        }
    }
}

loopy();

answered Nov 8, 2011 at 18:17

Francis Yaconiello

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