Master PHP’s array_values(): Reindex Arrays and Convert Associative to Indexed

In PHP development, arrays are a common data structure, and PHP provides many functions to manipulate them. This article introduces the useful array_values() function, which returns a new array containing all the elements of the original array.

The array_values() function returns a new array whose keys are reindexed starting from 0. It is used by passing an array as the argument. Below is a simple example:

<?php
$array = array("apple", "banana", "cherry");
$newArray = array_values($array);
print_r($newArray);
?>

Running the code outputs:

Array
(
    [0] => apple
    [1] => banana
    [2] => cherry
)

The function is useful when you need to reindex an array or convert an associative array to an indexed array.

It also works with associative arrays, preserving the values while reindexing the keys. Example:

<?php
$student = array(
    "name" => "张三",
    "age" => 18,
    "score" => 95
);
$newArray = array_values($student);
print_r($newArray);
?>

The output is:

Array
(
    [0] => 张三
    [1] => 18
    [2] => 95
)

Note that array_values() returns a new array, not a reference to the original. Modifying the new array does not affect the original, as shown in the following example:

<?php
$array = array("apple", "banana", "cherry");
$newArray = array_values($array);
$newArray[0] = "orange";
print_r($newArray);  // Array ( [0] => orange [1] => banana [2] => cherry )
print_r($array);      // Array ( [0] => apple [1] => banana [2] => cherry )
?>

In summary, array_values() is a practical function for handling arrays in PHP, capable of reindexing indexed arrays and converting associative arrays while keeping the original values intact, thereby improving code readability and maintainability.