array_push()
(PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7)
将一个或多个单元压入数组的末尾(入栈)
说明
array_push(array &$array,mixed $value1[,mixed $...]): int
array_push()将$array当成一个栈,并将传入的变量压入$array的末尾。$array的长度将根据入栈变量的数目增加。和如下效果相同:
<?php $array[] = $var; ?>并对每个传入的值重复以上动作。
Note:如果用array_push()来给数组增加一个单元,还不如用$array[]=,因为这样没有调用函数的额外负担。
Note:如果第一个参数不是数组,array_push()将发出一条警告。这和$var[]的行为不同,后者会新建一个数组。
参数
- $array
输入的数组。
- $value1
要压入$array末尾的第一个值。
返回值
返回处理之后数组的元素个数。
范例
Example #1array_push()例子
<?php $stack = array("orange", "banana"); array_push($stack, "apple", "raspberry"); print_r($stack); ?>
以上例程会输出:
Array ( [0] => orange [1] => banana [2] => apple [3] => raspberry )
参见
array_pop()
弹出数组最后一个单元(出栈)array_shift()
将数组开头的单元移出数组array_unshift()
在数组开头插入一个或多个单元
If you're going to use array_push() to insert a "$key" => "$value" pair into an array, it can be done using the following: $data[$key] = $value; It is not necessary to use array_push.
I've done a small comparison between array_push() and the $array[] method and the $array[] seems to be a lot faster. <?php $array = array(); for ($x = 1; $x <= 100000; $x++) { $array[] = $x; } ?> takes 0.0622200965881 seconds and <?php $array = array(); for ($x = 1; $x <= 100000; $x++) { array_push($array, $x); } ?> takes 1.63195490837 seconds so if your not making use of the return value of array_push() its better to use the $array[] way. Hope this helps someone.
Rodrigo de Aquino asserted that instead of using array_push to append to an associative array you can instead just do... $data[$key] = $value; ...but this is actually not true. Unlike array_push and even... $data[] = $value; ...Rodrigo's suggestion is NOT guaranteed to append the new element to the END of the array. For instance... $data['one'] = 1; $data['two'] = 2; $data['three'] = 3; $data['four'] = 4; ...might very well result in an array that looks like this... [ "four" => 4, "one" => 1, "three" => 3, "two" => 2 ] I can only assume that PHP sorts the array as elements are added to make it easier for it to find a specified element by its key later. In many cases it won't matter if the array is not stored internally in the same order you added the elements, but if, for instance, you execute a foreach on the array later, the elements may not be processed in the order you need them to be. If you want to add elements to the END of an associative array you should use the unary array union operator (+=) instead... $data['one'] = 1; $data += [ "two" => 2 ]; $data += [ "three" => 3 ]; $data += [ "four" => 4 ]; You can also, of course, append more than one element at once... $data['one'] = 1; $data += [ "two" => 2, "three" => 3 ]; $data += [ "four" => 4 ]; Note that like array_push (but unlike $array[] =) the array must exist before the unary union, which means that if you are building an array in a loop you need to declare an empty array first... $data = []; for ( $i = 1; $i < 5; $i++ ) { $data += [ "element$i" => $i ]; } ...which will result in an array that looks like this... [ "element1" => 1, "element2" => 2, "element3" => 3, "element4" => 4 ]
There is a mistake in the note by egingell at sisna dot com 12 years ago. The tow dimensional array will output "d,e,f", not "a,b,c". <?php $stack = array('a', 'b', 'c'); array_push($stack, array('d', 'e', 'f')); print_r($stack); ?> The above will output this: Array ( [0] => a [1] => b [2] => c [3] => Array ( [0] => d [1] => e [2] => f ) )
If you're adding multiple values to an array in a loop, it's faster to use array_push than repeated [] = statements that I see all the time: <?php class timer { private $start; private $end; public function timer() { $this->start = microtime(true); } public function Finish() { $this->end = microtime(true); } private function GetStart() { if (isset($this->start)) return $this->start; else return false; } private function GetEnd() { if (isset($this->end)) return $this->end; else return false; } public function GetDiff() { return $this->GetEnd() - $this->GetStart(); } public function Reset() { $this->start = microtime(true); } } echo "Adding 100k elements to array with []\n\n"; $ta = array(); $test = new Timer(); for ($i = 0; $i < 100000; $i++) { $ta[] = $i; } $test->Finish(); echo $test->GetDiff(); echo "\n\nAdding 100k elements to array with array_push\n\n"; $test->Reset(); for ($i = 0; $i < 100000; $i++) { array_push($ta,$i); } $test->Finish(); echo $test->GetDiff(); echo "\n\nAdding 100k elements to array with [] 10 per iteration\n\n"; $test->Reset(); for ($i = 0; $i < 10000; $i++) { $ta[] = $i; $ta[] = $i; $ta[] = $i; $ta[] = $i; $ta[] = $i; $ta[] = $i; $ta[] = $i; $ta[] = $i; $ta[] = $i; $ta[] = $i; } $test->Finish(); echo $test->GetDiff(); echo "\n\nAdding 100k elements to array with array_push 10 per iteration\n\n"; $test->Reset(); for ($i = 0; $i < 10000; $i++) { array_push($ta,$i,$i,$i,$i,$i,$i,$i,$i,$i,$i); } $test->Finish(); echo $test->GetDiff(); ?> Output $ php5 arraypush.php X-Powered-By: PHP/5.2.5 Content-type: text/html Adding 100k elements to array with [] 0.044686794281006 Adding 100k elements to array with array_push 0.072616100311279 Adding 100k elements to array with [] 10 per iteration 0.034690141677856 Adding 100k elements to array with array_push 10 per iteration 0.023932933807373
If you push an array onto the stack, PHP will add the whole array to the next element instead of adding the keys and values to the array. If this is not what you want, you're better off using array_merge() or traverse the array you're pushing on and add each element with $stack[$key] = $value. <?php $stack = array('a', 'b', 'c'); array_push($stack, array('d', 'e', 'f')); print_r($stack); ?> The above will output this: Array ( [0] => a [1] => b [2] => c [3] => Array ( [0] => a [1] => b [2] => c ) )
Need a real one-liner for adding an element onto a new array name? $emp_list_bic = $emp_list + array(c=>"ANY CLIENT"); CONTEXT... drewdeal: this turns out to be better and easier than array_push() patelbhadresh: great!... so u discover new idea... drewdeal: because you can't do: $emp_list_bic = array_push($emp_list, c=>"ANY CLIENT"); drewdeal: array_push returns a count and affects current array.. and does not support set keys! drewdeal: yeah. My one-liner makes a new array as a derivative of the prior array
I did a performance check, and I saw, if you push more than one value it can be faster the array push, that the normal $array[] version. Case 1: $array[] = something; Case 2: array_push($array, $value); Case 3: array_push($array, $value1, $value2, $value3 [...]); $values are definied Case 4: array_push($array, $value1, $value2, $value3 [...]); $values are definied, when $array is not empty Case 5: Case1 + Case 3 Case 6: Result array contains some value (Case 4) Case 7: Result array contains same value as the push array (Case 4) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Case 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Times: 0.0310 0.0300 0.0290 0.0340 0.0400 0.0440 0.0480 0.0550 0.0570 0.0570 Min: 0.0290 Max: 0.0570 Avg: 0.0425 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Case 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Times: 0.3890 0.3850 0.3770 0.4110 0.4020 0.3980 0.4020 0.4060 0.4130 0.4200 Min: 0.3770 Max: 0.4200 Avg: 0.4003 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Case 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Times: 0.0200 0.0220 0.0240 0.0340 0.0360 0.0410 0.0460 0.0500 0.0520 0.0520 Min: 0.0200 Max: 0.0520 Avg: 0.0377 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Case 4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Times: 0.0200 0.0250 0.0230 0.0260 0.0330 0.0390 0.0460 0.0510 0.0520 0.0520 Min: 0.0200 Max: 0.0520 Avg: 0.0367 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Case 5 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Times: 0.0260 0.0250 0.0370 0.0360 0.0390 0.0440 0.0510 0.0520 0.0530 0.0560 Min: 0.0250 Max: 0.0560 Avg: 0.0419 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Case 6 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Times: 0.0340 0.0280 0.0370 0.0410 0.0450 0.0480 0.0560 0.0580 0.0580 0.0570 Min: 0.0280 Max: 0.0580 Avg: 0.0462 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Case 7 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Times: 0.0290 0.0270 0.0350 0.0410 0.0430 0.0470 0.0540 0.0540 0.0550 0.0550 Min: 0.0270 Max: 0.0550 Avg: 0.044 Tester code: // Case 1 $startTime = microtime(true); $array = array(); for ($x = 1; $x <= 100000; $x++) { $array[] = $x; } $endTime = microtime(true); // Case 2 $startTime = microtime(true); $array = array(); for ($x = 1; $x <= 100000; $x++) { array_push($array, $x); } $endTime = microtime(true); // Case 3 $result = array(); $array2 = array(&$result)+$array; $startTime = microtime(true); call_user_func_array("array_push", $array2); $endTime = microtime(true); // Case 4 $result = array(); for ($x = 1; $x <= 100000; $x++) { $result[] = $x; } $array2 = array(&$result)+$array; $startTime = microtime(true); call_user_func_array("array_push", $array2); $endTime = microtime(true); // Case 5 $result = array(); $startTime = microtime(true); $array = array(&$result); for ($x = 1; $x <= 100000; $x++) { $array[] = $x; } $endTime = microtime(true); // Case 6 $result = array(1,2,3,4,5,6); $startTime = microtime(true); $array = array(&$result); for ($x = 1; $x <= 100000; $x++) { $array[] = $x; } $endTime = microtime(true); // Case 7 $result = array(); for ($x = 1; $x <= 100000; $x++) { $result[] = $x; } $startTime = microtime(true); $array = array(&$result); for ($x = 1; $x <= 100000; $x++) { $array[] = $x; } $endTime = microtime(true);
Skylifter notes on 20-Jan-2004 that the [] empty bracket notation does not return the array count as array_push does. There's another difference between array_push and the recommended empty bracket notation. Empy bracket doesn't check if a variable is an array first as array_push does. If array_push finds that a variable isn't an array it prints a Warning message if E_ALL error reporting is on. So array_push is safer than [], until further this is changed by the PHP developers.
If you want to preserve the keys in the array, use the following: <?php function array_pshift(&$array) { $keys = array_keys($array); $key = array_shift($keys); $element = $array[$key]; unset($array[$key]); return $element; } ?>
elegant php array combinations algorithm <? //by Shimon Dookin function get_combinations(&$lists,&$result,$stack=array(),$pos=0) { $list=$lists[$pos]; if(is_array($list)) foreach($list as $word) { array_push($stack,$word); if(count($lists)==count($stack)) $result[]=$stack; else get_combinations($lists,$result,$stack,$pos+1); array_pop($stack); } } $wordlists= array( array("shimon","doodkin") , array("php programmer","sql programmer","mql metatrader programmer") ); get_combinations($wordlists,$combinations); echo '<xmp>'; print_r($combinations); ?>
This is how I add all the elements from one array to another: <?php $oneArray = ['d', 'e', 'f']; $anotherArray = ['a', 'b', 'c']; array_push($anotherArray, ...$oneArray); //['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f'];
if you need to push a multidimensional numeric array into another, array push will push the hole array into a key of the first array, for example, let's imagine you have two arrays: <?php $array1 = [ 0 => [ "key1" => "value1", "key2" => "value2" ] ]; $array2 = [ 0 => [ "key1" => "value1", "key2" => "value2" ] ]; $array1[] = $array2; //after that array1 will look like this: [ 0 => [ "key1" => "value1", "key2" => "value2" ], 1 => [ 0 => [ "key1" => "value2", "key2" => "value2" ] ] // If you don't want that to happen here's a function to avoid that: function array_push_indexes($array1, $array2){ $lastKey = array_key_last($array1); for($i = 0; $i < count($array2); $i++){ $KeyPosition = 1 + $i; $array1[$lastKey+$KeyPosition] = $array2[$i]; } return $array1; } //Using the same example from before this function will return: [ 0 => [ "key1" => "value1", "key2" => "value2" ], 1 => [ "key1" => "value1", "key2" => "value2" ] ] ?> P.S: the array_key_last function it's for PHP >= 7.3.0 see more here https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.array-key-last.php
There is problem with pushing references to array, introduced in PHP 5.4 - did someone decide it is not needed? In PHP 5.3 this could be used: $A=array(); array_push($A,1); $c=2; array_push($A,&$c); print_r($A); $c=3; print_r($A); Outputs correctly: Array ( [0] => 1 [1] => 2 ) Array ( [0] => 1 [1] => 3 ) Think of Reference as a pointer in other languages... This function is needed for example to push parameters for MySql query: $params=array(); array_push($params,&$field1); array_push($params,&$field2); array_unshift($params,'ss'); call_user_func_array(array($Query,'bind_param'),$params); This code causes fatal error in PHP 5.4 and depending on server configuration it may not even be reported why... A workarround to allow pushing references to array is this: $A=array(); $A[]=1; $c=2; $A[]=&$c; print_r($A); $c=3; print_r($A); $params=array(); $params[]=&$field1; $params[]=&$field2; array_unshift($params,'ss'); call_user_func_array(array($Query,'bind_param'),$params); (in actual code, the fields are specified dynamically and iterated in for-loop...) This seems working both on PHP 5.3 and PHP 5.6 ...
Add elements to an array before or after a specific index or key: <?php /** * @return array * @param array $src * @param array $in * @param int|string $pos */ function array_push_before($src,$in,$pos){ if(is_int($pos)) $R=array_merge(array_slice($src,0,$pos), $in, array_slice($src,$pos)); else{ foreach($src as $k=>$v){ if($k==$pos)$R=array_merge($R,$in); $R[$k]=$v; } }return $R; } /** * @return array * @param array $src * @param array $in * @param int|string $pos */ function array_push_after($src,$in,$pos){ if(is_int($pos)) $R=array_merge(array_slice($src,0,$pos+1), $in, array_slice($src,$pos+1)); else{ foreach($src as $k=>$v){ $R[$k]=$v; if($k==$pos)$R=array_merge($R,$in); } }return $R; } // Examples: $src=array("A","B","C"); $in=array("X","Y"); var_dump(array_push_before($src,$in,1)); /* array_push_before, no-key array array(5) { [0]=> string(1) "A" [1]=> string(1) "X" [2]=> string(1) "Y" [3]=> string(1) "B" [4]=> string(1) "C" }*/ var_dump(array_push_after($src,$in,1)); /* array_push_after, no-key array array(5) { [0]=> string(1) "A" [1]=> string(1) "B" [2]=> string(1) "X" [3]=> string(1) "Y" [4]=> string(1) "C" }*/ $src=array('a'=>"A",'b'=>"B",'c'=>"C"); $in=array('x'=>"X",'y'=>"Y"); var_dump(array_push_before($src,$in,1)); /* array_push_before, key array, before index insert array(5) { ["a"]=> string(1) "A" ["x"]=> string(1) "X" ["y"]=> string(1) "Y" ["b"]=> string(1) "B" ["c"]=> string(1) "C" }*/ var_dump(array_push_before($src,$in,'b')); /* array_push_before, key array, before key insert array(5) { ["a"]=> string(1) "A" ["x"]=> string(1) "X" ["y"]=> string(1) "Y" ["b"]=> string(1) "B" ["c"]=> string(1) "C" }*/ var_dump(array_push_after($src,$in,1)); /* array_push_after, key array, after index insert array(5) { ["a"]=> string(1) "A" ["b"]=> string(1) "B" ["x"]=> string(1) "X" ["y"]=> string(1) "Y" ["c"]=> string(1) "C" }*/ var_dump(array_push_after($src,$in,'b')); /* array_push_after, key array, after key insert array(5) { ["a"]=> string(1) "A" ["b"]=> string(1) "B" ["x"]=> string(1) "X" ["y"]=> string(1) "Y" ["c"]=> string(1) "C" }*/ ?>
When developing a pocketmine plugin, a good way to add stuff to a YAML table is $table=$this->config->get("Table"); array_push($table, "New Value for table"); $this->config->set("Table", $table);
A function which mimics push() from perl, perl lets you push an array to an array: push(@array, @array2, @array3). This function mimics that behaviour. <?php function array_push_array(&$arr) { $args = func_get_args(); array_shift($args); if (!is_array($arr)) { trigger_error(sprintf("%s: Cannot perform push on something that isn't an array!", __FUNCTION__), E_USER_WARNING); return false; } foreach($args as $v) { if (is_array($v)) { if (count($v) > 0) { array_unshift($v, &$arr); call_user_func_array('array_push', $v); } } else { $arr[] = $v; } } return count($arr); } $arr = array(0); $arr2 = array(6,7,8); printf("%s\n", array_push_array($arr, array(),array(1,2,3,4,5), $arr2)); print_r($arr); # error.. $arr = "test"; printf("%s\n", array_push_array($arr, array(),array(1,2,3,4,5), $arr2)); ?>
Further Modification on the array_push_associative function 1. removes seemingly useless array_unshift function that generates php warning 2. adds support for non-array arguments <? // Append associative array elements function array_push_associative(&$arr) { $args = func_get_args(); foreach ($args as $arg) { if (is_array($arg)) { foreach ($arg as $key => $value) { $arr[$key] = $value; $ret++; } }else{ $arr[$arg] = ""; } } return $ret; } $items = array("here" => "now"); $moreitems = array("this" => "that"); $theArray = array("where" => "do we go", "here" => "we are today"); echo array_push_associative($theArray, $items, $moreitems, "five") . ' is the size of $theArray.<br />'; echo "<pre>"; print_r($theArray); echo "</pre>"; ?> Yields: 4 is the size of $theArray. Array ( [where] => do we go [here] => now [this] => that [five] => )
I found a simple way to have an "array_push_array" function, without the references problem when we want to use call_user_func_array(), hope this help : function array_push_array(array &$array) { $numArgs = func_num_args(); if(2 > $numArgs) { trigger_error(sprintf('%s: expects at least 2 parameters, %s given', __FUNCTION__, $numArgs), E_USER_WARNING); return false; } $values = func_get_args(); array_shift($values); foreach($values as $v) { if(is_array($v)) { if(count($v) > 0) { foreach($v as $w) { $array[] = $w; } } } else { $array[] = $v; } } return count($array); }
A small and basic implementation of a stack without using an array. class node { var $elem; var $next; } class stack { var $next; function pop() { $aux=$this->next->elem; $this->next=$this->next->next; return $aux; } function push($obj) { $nod=new node; $nod->elem=$obj; $nod->next=$this->next; $this->next=$nod; } function stack() { $this->next=NULL; } }
A very good function to remove a element from array function array_del($str,&$array) { if (in_array($str,$array)==true) { foreach ($array as $key=>$value) { if ($value==$str) unset($array[$key]); } } }
This will work to solve the associative array issues: $aValues[$key] = $value; Where $key is a unique identifier and $value is the value to be stored. Since the $key works off a string or number, if you already have a $key with the same value as an existing $key, the element will be overwritten. e.g. $aValues["one"] = "value of one"; $aValues["two"] = "different value of two!"; gives: array([one] => "value of one", [two] => "value of two"); but will be overwritten when using the same key (one): $aValues["one"] = "value of one"; $aValues["one"] = "different value of two!"; will give: array([one] => "different value of two!"); 3686
If you want to put an element to a specific position in an array, try this function. <?php function array_put_to_position(&$array, $object, $position, $name = null) { $count = 0; $return = array(); foreach ($array as $k => $v) { // insert new object if ($count == $position) { if (!$name) $name = $count; $return[$name] = $object; $inserted = true; } // insert old object $return[$k] = $v; $count++; } if (!$name) $name = $count; if (!$inserted) $return[$name]; $array = $return; return $array; } ?> Example : <?php $a = array( 'a' => 'A', 'b' => 'B', 'c' => 'C', ); print_r($a); array_put_to_position($a, 'G', 2, 'g'); print_r($a); /* Array ( [a] => A [b] => B [c] => C ) Array ( [a] => A [b] => B [g] => G [c] => C ) */ ?>
To insert a value into a non-associative array, I find this simple function does the trick: function insert_in_array_pos($array, $pos, $value) { $result = array_merge(array_slice($array, 0 , $pos), array($value), array_slice($array, $pos)); return $result; } Seems an awful lot simpler than the iterative solutions given above...
This function "Returns the new number of elements in the array." To find out the last index, use: <?php $count = array_push($array, $value); $last_index = array_pop(array_keys($array)); ?>
Be warned using $array "+=" array(1,2,3) or union operations (http://php.net/manual/en/language.operators.array.php) I think it worked in the past or i havent test it good enough. :-/ (once it worked, once [] was faster than array_push, the past :-D ): php -r '$a = array(1,2); $a += array(3,4); print_r($a);' Array ( [0] => 1 [1] => 2 ) php -r '$a = array(1,2); $b = array(3,4);$c = $a + $b; print_r($c);' Array ( [0] => 1 [1] => 2 ) php -r '$a = array(1,2); $b = array(2=>3,3=>4);$c = $a + $b; print_r($c);' Array ( [0] => 1 [1] => 2 [2] => 3 [3] => 4 )
If the element to be pushed onto the end of array is an array you will receive the following error message: Unknown Error, value: [8] Array to string conversion I tried both: (and works, but with the warning message) $aRol = array( $row[0], $row[1], $row[2] ); $aRoles[] = $aRol; and array_push( $aRoles, $aRol); The correct way: $cUnRol = implode("(",array( $row[0], $row[1], $row[2] ) ); array_push( $aRoles, $cUnRol ); thanks.
Array_push also works fine with multidimensional arrays. Just make sure the element is defined as an array first. <?php $array["element"][$element]["element"] = array(); array_push ($array["element"][$element]["element"], "banana"); ?>
Looking for a way to push data into an associative array and frustrated to know that array_push() can't do the job ? here's my Scenario : ------------------- I need to relate system command output into an associative array like these : [sge@digital_db work]$ /usr/local/apache/htdocs/work/qhost.sh -h t1 -F | awk '{if(NR>4) print $1}' | sed 's/hl://g' arch=lx24-amd64 num_proc=2.000000 mem_total=3.808G swap_total=3.907G virtual_total=7.715G load_avg=0.000000 load_short=0.000000 load_medium=0.000000 load_long=0.000000 mem_free=3.510G swap_free=3.907G virtual_free=7.417G mem_used=305.242M swap_used=0.000 virtual_used=305.242M cpu=0.000000 np_load_avg=0.000000 np_load_short=0.000000 np_load_medium=0.000000 np_load_long=0.000000 how I did it : <? php # get into the system command output $assoc_cmd =`$work_dir/qhost.sh -h $host_resource -F | awk '{if(NR>4) print $1}'| sed 's/hl://g' ` ; # split the "\n" character $assoc_row = explode("\n", chop($assoc_cmd)); # get the index row $idx_row = count($assoc_row) - 1 ; # initialize the associative array $host_res_array = array(); for ($i = 0 ; $i<= $idx_row ; $i++) { # get params & values list($host_param,$host_val) = explode("=",$assoc_row[$i]); # populate / push data to assoc array $host_res_array[$host_param]= $host_val ; } echo "<pre> Architecture : </pre>\n" ; echo $host_res_array['arch'] ; echo "<pre> Mem Total : </pre>\n" ; echo $host_res_array['mem_tot']; ?> Hope this helps ! :)
As someone pointed out the array_push() function returns the count of the array not the key of the new element. As it was the latter function i required i wrote this very simple replacement. function array_push2(&$array,$object,$key=null){ $keys = array_keys($array); rsort($keys); $newkey = ($key==null)?$keys[0]+1:$key; $array[$newkey] = $object; return $newkey; }
A variation of kamprettos' associative array push: // append associative array elements function associative_push($arr, $tmp) { if (is_array($tmp)) { foreach ($tmp as $key => $value) { $arr[$key] = $value; } return $arr; } return false; } $theArray = array(); $theArray = associative_push($theArray, $items);
regarding the speed of oneill's solution to insert a value into a non-associative array, I've done some tests and I found that it behaves well if you have a small array and more insertions, but for a huge array and a little insersions I sugest using this function: function array_insert( &$array, $index, $value ) { $cnt = count($array); for( $i = $cnt-1; $i >= $index; --$i ) { $array[ $i + 1 ] = $array[ $i ]; } $array[$index] = $value; } or if you are a speed adicted programmer (same situation: big array, few insertions) use this: array_splice ( $array, $offset, 0, $item ); item may also be an array of values ;).
Unfortunately array_push returns the new number of items in the array It does not give you the key of the item you just added, in numeric arrays you could do -1, you do however need to be sure that no associative key exists as that would break the assumption It would have been better if array_push would have returned the key of the item just added like the below function (perhaps a native variant would be a good idea...) <?php if(!function_exists('array_add')){ function array_add(array &$array,$value /*[, $...]*/){ $values = func_get_args(); //get all values $values[0]= &$array; //REFERENCE! $org=key($array); //where are we? call_user_func_array('array_push',$values); end($array); // move to the last item $key = key($array); //get the key of the last item if($org===null){ //was at eof, added something, move to it return $key; }elseif($org<(count($array)/2)){ //somewhere in the middle +/- is fine reset($array); while (key($array) !== $org) next($List); }else{ while (key($array) !== $org) prev($List); } return $key; } } echo "<pre>\n"; $pr = array('foo'=>'bar','bar'=>'foo'); echo "Taken array;"; print_r($pr); echo "\npush 1 returns ".array_push($pr,1)."\n"; echo "------------------------------------\n"; $pr = array('foo'=>'bar','bar'=>'foo'); echo "\npush 2 returns ".array_push($pr,1,2)."\n"; echo "------------------------------------\n"; $pr = array('foo'=>'bar','bar'=>'foo'); echo "\n add 1 returns ".array_add($pr,2)."\n\n"; echo "------------------------------------\n"; $pr = array('foo'=>'bar','bar'=>'foo'); echo "\n add 2 returns ".array_add($pr,1,2)."\n\n"; echo "<pre/>\n\n"; ?> Outputs: Taken array;Array ( [foo] => bar [bar] => foo ) push 1 returns 3 ------------------------------------ push 2 returns 4 ------------------------------------ add 1 returns 0 ------------------------------------ add 2 returns 1