Loose checking returns some crazy, counter-intuitive results when used with certain arrays. It is completely correct behaviour, due to PHP's leniency on variable types, but in "real-life" is almost useless.
The solution is to use the strict checking option.
<?php
// Example array
$array = array(
'egg' => true,
'cheese' => false,
'hair' => 765,
'goblins' => null,
'ogres' => 'no ogres allowed in this array'
);
// Loose checking -- return values are in comments
// First three make sense, last four do not
in_array(null, $array); // true
in_array(false, $array); // true
in_array(765, $array); // true
in_array(763, $array); // true
in_array('egg', $array); // true
in_array('hhh', $array); // true
in_array(array(), $array); // true
// Strict checking
in_array(null, $array, true); // true
in_array(false, $array, true); // true
in_array(765, $array, true); // true
in_array(763, $array, true); // false
in_array('egg', $array, true); // false
in_array('hhh', $array, true); // false
in_array(array(), $array, true); // false
?>
in_array
(PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8)
in_array — Checks if a value exists in an array
Description
Searches for needle in haystack using loose comparison
unless strict is set.
Parameters
-
needle -
The searched value.
Note:
If
needleis a string, the comparison is done in a case-sensitive manner. -
haystack -
The array.
-
strict -
If the third parameter
strictis set totruethen the in_array() function will also check the types of theneedlein thehaystack.Note:
Prior to PHP 8.0.0, a
stringneedlewill match an array value of0in non-strict mode, and vice versa. That may lead to undesireable results. Similar edge cases exist for other types, as well. If not absolutely certain of the types of values involved, always use thestrictflag to avoid unexpected behavior.
Return Values
Returns true if needle is found in the array,
false otherwise.
Examples
Example #1 in_array() example
<?php
$os = array("Mac", "NT", "Irix", "Linux");
if (in_array("Irix", $os)) {
echo "Got Irix";
}
if (in_array("mac", $os)) {
echo "Got mac";
}
?>The second condition fails because in_array() is case-sensitive, so the program above will display:
Got Irix
Example #2 in_array() with strict example
<?php
$a = array('1.10', 12.4, 1.13);
if (in_array('12.4', $a, true)) {
echo "'12.4' found with strict check\n";
}
if (in_array(1.13, $a, true)) {
echo "1.13 found with strict check\n";
}
?>The above example will output:
1.13 found with strict check
Example #3 in_array() with an array as needle
<?php
$a = array(array('p', 'h'), array('p', 'r'), 'o');
if (in_array(array('p', 'h'), $a)) {
echo "'ph' was found\n";
}
if (in_array(array('f', 'i'), $a)) {
echo "'fi' was found\n";
}
if (in_array('o', $a)) {
echo "'o' was found\n";
}
?>The above example will output:
'ph' was found 'o' was found
See Also
- array_search() - Searches the array for a given value and returns the first corresponding key if successful
- isset() - Determine if a variable is declared and is different than null
- array_key_exists() - Checks if the given key or index exists in the array
add a note
User Contributed Notes 8 notes
beingmrkenny at gmail dot com ¶
13 years ago
Julian Sawicki ¶
1 year ago
Here is a recursive in_array function:
<?php
$myNumbers = [
[1,2,3,4,5],
[6,7,8,9,10],
];
$array = [
'numbers' => $myNumbers
];
// Let's try to find number 7 within $array
$hasNumber = in_array(7, $array, true); // bool(false)
$hasNumber = in_array_recursive(7, $array, true); // bool(true)
function in_array_recursive(mixed $needle, array $haystack, bool $strict): bool
{
foreach ($haystack as $element) {
if ($element === $needle) {
return true;
}
$isFound = false;
if (is_array($element)) {
$isFound = in_array_recursive($needle, $element, $strict);
}
if ($isFound === true) {
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
Armands Rieksti ¶
1 year ago
I'd like to point out that, if you're using Enum data structures and want to compare whether an array of strings has a certain string Enum in it, you need to cast it to a string.
From what I've tested, the function works correctly:
if the array is filled with strings and you're searching for a string;
if the array is filled with Enums and you're searching for an Enum.
rhill at xenu-directory dot net ¶
15 years ago
I found out that in_array will *not* find an associative array within a haystack of associative arrays in strict mode if the keys were not generated in the *same order*:
<?php
$needle = array(
'fruit'=>'banana', 'vegetable'=>'carrot'
);
$haystack = array(
array('vegetable'=>'carrot', 'fruit'=>'banana'),
array('fruit'=>'apple', 'vegetable'=>'celery')
);
echo in_array($needle, $haystack, true) ? 'true' : 'false';
// Output is 'false'
echo in_array($needle, $haystack) ? 'true' : 'false';
// Output is 'true'
?>
I had wrongly assumed the order of the items in an associative array were irrelevant, regardless of whether 'strict' is TRUE or FALSE: The order is irrelevant *only* if not in strict mode.
leonhard dot radonic+phpnet at gmail dot com ¶
2 years ago
I got an unexpected behavior working with in_array. I'm using following code:
<?php
// ...
$someId = getSomeId(); // it gets generated/fetched by another service, so I don't know what value it will have. P.S.: it's an integer
// The actual data in my edge-case scenario:
// $someId = 0;
// $anyArray = ['dataOne', 'dataTwo'];
if (in_array($someId, $anyArray)) {
// do some work
}
// ...
?>
With PHP7.4, in_array returns boolean true.
With PHP8.1, in_array returns boolean false.
It took me quite some time to find out what's going on.
thomas dot sahlin at gmail dot com ¶
15 years ago
If you're creating an array yourself and then using in_array to search it, consider setting the keys of the array and using isset instead since it's much faster.
<?php
$slow = array('apple', 'banana', 'orange');
if (in_array('banana', $slow))
print('Found it!');
$fast = array('apple' => 'apple', 'banana' => 'banana', 'orange' => 'orange');
if (isset($fast['banana']))
print('Found it!');
?>
