php array unset not working

Question

I have a multidimensional array called "values". This is how var_dump($values) looks now.

array(1) { 
    [0]=> array(3) { 
        ["content"]=> array(1) { 
            ["items"]=> array(4) { 
                [0]=> string(4) "3121" 
                [1]=> string(4) "3116" 
                [2]=> string(4) "3115" 
                [3]=> string(4) "3114" 
            } 
        } 
        ["options"]=> array(8) { 
            ["title"]=> string(7) "inherit" 
            ["size"]=> string(4) "tiny" 
            ["orderby"]=> string(4) "date" 
            ["order"]=> string(4) "desc" 
            ["filter"]=> string(8) "category" 
            ["pagination"]=> bool(false) 
            ["per_page"]=> int(12) 
            ["content"]=> array(3) { 
                [0]=> string(5) "title" 
                [1]=> string(7) "excerpt" 
                [2]=> string(4) "tags" 
            } 
        } 
        ["__version"]=> string(5) "2.3.1" 
    }
}

Here is the code i'm using to unset the value

 //before unset
    var_dump($values);

    $ID = "3121";
    foreach ($values as $value) {
                    foreach($value['content']['items'] as $key => $val) {               
                    if($val == $ID) {
                     unset($value['content']['items'][$key]);
                     }
                    }
        }

   //after unset
    var_dump($values);

My var_dump looks same even after unset. I think my array unset not working. Can someone tell me whats wrong with my code?

Orangepill · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-06 18:37:29Z

7

In php arrays are passed by value instead of by reference change

 foreach ($values as $value) {

to

 foreach ($values as &$value) {

See here for relevant documentation.

answered Jul 6, 2013 at 18:37

Orangepill

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1 Comment

h2ooooooo Over a year ago

@Giri Remember to use unset($value) after the for loop has ended (this will delete the REFERENCE, NOT the variable), or you have a useless reference lying around in your code (which essentially means that if you delete the last value, eg. by using array.pop, it'll stay in memory, as you're referencing it somewhere else)

Musa · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-06 18:37:26Z

3

You didn't put a $key variable in the for loop and to change value you have to use a reference

foreach ($values as &$value) {
  foreach($value['content']['items'] as $key => $val) {               
      if($val == $ID) {
          unset($value['content']['items'][$key]);
      }
  }
}

answered Jul 6, 2013 at 18:37

Musa

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1 Comment

PrivateUser Over a year ago

Hey there, It still looks the same even after adding that key variable

u_mulder · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-06 18:39:17Z

0

foreach ($values as &$value)

answered Jul 6, 2013 at 18:39

u_mulder

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