access array element by value

Question

   array(
  [0]
      name => 'joe'
      size => 'large'
  [1] 
      name => 'bill'
      size => 'small'

)

I think i'm being thick, but to get the attributes of an array element if I know the value of one of the keys, I'm first looping through the elements to find the right one.

foreach($array as $item){
   if ($item['name'] == 'joe'){
      #operations on $item
   }
}

I'm aware that this is probably very poor, but I am fairly new and am looking for a way to access this element directly by value. Or do I need the key?

Thanks, Brandon

Wrikken · Accepted Answer · 2010-06-18 23:36:57Z

2

If searching for the exact same array it will work, not it you have other values in it:

<?php
$arr = array(
array('name'=>'joe'),
array('name'=>'bob'));
var_dump(array_search(array('name'=>'bob'),$arr));   
//works: int(1)
$arr = array(
array('name'=>'joe','a'=>'b'),
array('name'=>'bob','c'=>'d'));
var_dump(array_search(array('name'=>'bob'),$arr));   
//fails: bool(false)
?>

If there are other keys, there is no other way then looping as you already do. If you only need to find them by name, and names are unique, consider using them as keys when you create the array:

<?php
$arr = array(
'joe' => array('name'=>'joe','a'=>'b'),
'bob' => array('name'=>'bob','c'=>'d'));
$arr['joe']['a'] = 'bbb';
?>

edited Jun 18, 2010 at 23:36

answered Jun 17, 2010 at 17:10

Wrikken

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Comments

Sarfraz · Accepted Answer · 2010-06-17 17:20:13Z

2

Try array_search

$key = array_search('joe', $array);
echo $array[$key];

edited Jun 17, 2010 at 17:20

answered Jun 17, 2010 at 17:09

Sarfraz

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2 Comments

salathe Over a year ago

Awesome, code that works and doesn't. Try finding bill and you'll find that joe is a persistent little blighter.

Allfarid Morales García Over a year ago

that's because $key remains empty

Pete · Accepted Answer · 2010-06-17 17:13:32Z

0

If you need to do operations on name, and name is unique within your array, this would be better:

 array(
 'joe'=> 'large',
 'bill'=> 'small'
 );

With multiple attributes:

 array(
 'joe'=>array('size'=>'large', 'age'=>32),
 'bill'=>array('size'=>'small', 'age'=>43)
 );

Though here you might want to consider a more OOP approach.

If you must use a numeric key, look at array_search

answered Jun 17, 2010 at 17:13

Pete

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Comments

Artefacto · Accepted Answer · 2010-06-17 17:15:02Z

0

You can stick to your for loop. There are not big differences between it and other methods – the array has always to be traversed linearly. That said, you can use these functions to find array pairs with a certain value:

array_search, if you're there's only one element with that value.
array_keys, if there may be more than one.

answered Jun 17, 2010 at 17:15

Artefacto

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1 Comment

Brandon Frohbieter Over a year ago

Ah, this makes me understand a bit better. I'm storing a lot of data in session, so I don't have to query for it each time I need to access it. Is this bad practice?

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