Using PHP’s array_values() Function to Reindex Arrays

In PHP development, arrays are a fundamental data structure, and the language provides many built‑in functions to manipulate them. This article focuses on the array_values() function, which returns a new array containing all the values of the original array with numeric keys reindexed from zero.

The function is straightforward: pass any array as the argument, and it returns a new array whose keys start at 0 and increment sequentially, while preserving the original values.

Example with a simple indexed array:

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

Running this code outputs:

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

This demonstrates that array_values() returns a new array whose keys are reset to 0, 1, 2, matching the original values, which is useful for re‑indexing or converting associative arrays to indexed ones.

Example with an associative array:

<?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
)

Here, array_values() converts the associative array into an indexed array, discarding the original keys but keeping the values in the same order.

It is important to note that the array returned by array_values() is a copy, not a reference to the original array. Modifying the new array does not affect the source array:

<?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 )
?>

This confirms that changes to the returned array are isolated from the original.

In summary, array_values() is a practical function for obtaining a re‑indexed list of values from both indexed and associative arrays, improving code readability and simplifying further array operations in PHP backend development.