PHP count() Function – Counting Elements in Arrays and Objects

The PHP count() function returns the number of elements in an array or the number of properties in an object, optionally counting recursively when the COUNT_RECURSIVE mode is used.

Signature: int count(mixed $var [, int $mode = COUNT_NORMAL])

Description: It counts all elements of an array or, for objects implementing the Countable interface, calls the Countable::count() method. If $var is not an array or Countable object, the function returns 1, except when $var is NULL , returning 0.

Parameters:

$var – the array or object to be counted.

$mode – optional; set to COUNT_RECURSIVE (or 1) to count recursively through multidimensional arrays. Default is COUNT_NORMAL (0).

Return value: The number of elements in $var according to the mode.

Example 1:

<?php
$a[0] = 1;
$a[1] = 3;
$a[2] = 5;
$result = count($a); // $result == 3

$b[0] = 7;
$b[5] = 9;
$b[10] = 11;
$result = count($b); // $result == 3

$result = count(null); // $result == 0
$result = count(false); // $result == 1
?>

Example 2 (recursive count):

<?php
$food = array(
    'fruits' => array('orange', 'banana', 'apple'),
    'veggie' => array('carrot', 'collard', 'pea')
);
echo count($food, COUNT_RECURSIVE); // output 8
echo count($food); // output 2
?>