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    list

    (PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8)

    list — Asignar variables como si fueran un array

    Descripción

    list(mixed $var1, mixed ...$... = ?): array

    Al igual que array(), no es realmente una función, es un constructor del lenguaje. list() se utiliza para asignar una lista de variables en una sola operación.

    Nota:

    list() solo funciona con arrays numéricos y supone que los índices numéricos empiezan en 0.

    Advertencia

    En PHP 5, list() asigna los valores empezando desde el parámetro más a la derecha. En PHP 7, list() empieza desde el parámetro más a la izquierda.

    Si se emplean variables simples, esto no debería ser un problema. Pero se en emplean arrays con índices, normalmente se espera que el orden de los índices sea el mismo que el escrito en list(), de izquierda a derecha, no siendo este el caso en PHP 5, ya que se asignan en orden inverso.

    En términos generales, se aconseja evitar depender de un orden específico de operación debido a que este podría cambiar de nuevo en el futuro.

    Advertencia

    La modificación del array durante la ejecución de list() (p.ej. usando list($a, $b) = $b) resultará en un comportamiento indefinido.

    Parámetros

    var1

    Una variable.

    Valores devueltos

    Devuelve el array asignado.

    Ejemplos

    Ejemplo #1 Ejemplos de list()

    <?php

    $info     = array('café', 'marrón', 'cafeína');

    // Enumerar todas las variables
    list($bebida, $color, $energía) = $info;
    echo     "El $bebida es $color y la $energía lo hace especial.\n";

    // Enumerar algunas de ellas
    list($bebida, , $energía) = $info;
    echo     "El $bebida tiene $energía.\n";

    // U omitir solo la tercera
    list( , , $energía) = $info;
    echo     "Necesito $energía!\n";

    // list() no funciona con cadenas
    list($bar) = "abcde";
    var_dump($bar); // NULL
    ?>

    Ejemplo #2 Un ejemplo del uso de list()

    <table>
    <tr>
    <th>Nombre del empleado</th>
    <th>Salario</th>
    </tr>

    <?php

    $resultado     = $pdo->query("SELECT id, nombre, salario FROM empleados");
    while (list(    $id, $nombre, $salario) = $resultado->fetch(PDO::FETCH_NUM)) {
    echo     " <tr>\n" .
    " <td><a href=\"info.php?id=$id\">$nombre</a></td>\n" .
    " <td>$salario</td>\n" .
    " </tr>\n";
    }

    ?>

    </table>

    Ejemplo #3 Empleo de list() anidados

    <?php

    list($a, list($b, $c)) = array(1, array(2, 3));

    var_dump($a, $b, $c);

    ?>
    int(1)
int(2)
int(3)

    Ejemplo #4 Uso de list() con índices de array

    <?php

    $info     = array('café', 'marrón', 'cafeína');

    list(    $a[0], $a[1], $a[2]) = $info;

    var_dump($a);

    ?>

    Muestra la siguiente salida (nótese el orden de los elementos comparado con el orden escrito en la sintaxis de list()): 

    array(3) {
  [2]=>
  string(8) "cafeína"
  [1]=>
  string(7) "marrón"
  [0]=>
  string(5) "café"
}

    Ejemplo #5 list() y orden de definiciones de índices

    El orden en el que están definidos los índices de los arrays que consume list() es irrelevante.

    <?php
    $foo     = array(2 => 'a', 'foo' => 'b', 0 => 'c');
    $foo[1] = 'd';
    list(    $x, $y, $z) = $foo;
    var_dump($foo, $x, $y, $z);

    Da el siguiente resultado (observe el orden de los elementos comparado con el orden en el que están escritos en la sintaxis de list()): 

    array(4) {
  [2]=>
  string(1) "a"
  ["foo"]=>
  string(1) "b"
  [0]=>
  string(1) "c"
  [1]=>
  string(1) "d"
}
string(1) "c"
string(1) "d"
string(1) "a"

    Ver también

    • each() - Devolver el par clave/valor actual de un array y avanzar el cursor del array
    • array() - Crea un array
    • extract() - Importar variables a la tabla de símbolos actual desde un array

    add a note add a note

    User Contributed Notes 25 notes

    up
    142
    Rhamnia Mohamed
    7 years ago
    Since PHP 7.1, keys can be specified

    exemple :
    <?php
    $array     = ['locality' => 'Tunis', 'postal_code' => '1110'];

    list(    'postal_code' => $zipCode, 'locality' => $locality) = $array;

    print     $zipCode; // will output 1110
    print $locality; // will output Tunis
    ?>
    up
    128
    carlosv775 at gmail dot com
    7 years ago
    In PHP 7.1 we can do the following:

    <?php
            [$a, $b, $c] = ['a', 'b', 'c'];
    ?>

    Before, we had to do:

    <?php
            list($a, $b, $c) = ['a', 'b',  'c'];
    ?>
    up
    91
    grzeniufication
    10 years ago
    The example showing that:

    $info = array('kawa', 'brązowa', 'kofeina');
    list($a[0], $a[1], $a[2]) = $info;
    var_dump($a);

    outputs:
    array(3) {
    [2]=>
    string(8) "kofeina"
    [1]=>
    string(5) "brązowa"
    [0]=>
    string(6) "kawa"
    }

    One thing to note here is that if you define the array earlier, e.g.:
    $a = [0, 0, 0];

    the indexes will be kept in the correct order:

    array(3) {
      [0]=>
      string(4) "kawa"
      [1]=>
      string(8) "brązowa"
      [2]=>
      string(7) "kofeina"
    }

    Thought that it was worth mentioning.
    up
    71
    megan at voices dot com
    11 years ago
    As noted, list() will give an error if the input array is too short. This can be avoided by array_merge()'ing in some default values. For example:

    <?php
    $parameter     = 'name';
    list(     $a, $b ) = array_merge( explode( '=', $parameter ), array( true ) );
    ?>

    However, you will have to array_merge with an array long enough to ensure there are enough elements (if $parameter is empty, the code above would still error).

    An alternate approach would be to use array_pad on the array to ensure its length (if all the defaults you need to add are the same).

    <?php
        $parameter     = 'bob-12345';
        list(     $name, $id, $fav_color, $age ) = array_pad( explode( '-', $parameter ), 4, '' );
            var_dump($name, $id, $fav_color, $age);
    /* outputs
    string(3) "bob"
    string(5) "12345"
    string(0) ""
    string(0) ""
    */
    ?>
    up
    76
    chris at chlab dot ch
    12 years ago
    The example states the following:
    <?php
    // list() doesn't work with strings
    list($bar) = "abcde";
    var_dump($bar);
    // output: NULL
    ?>

    If the string is in a variable however, it seems using list() will treat the string as an array:
    <?php
    $string     = "abcde";
    list(    $foo) = $string;
    var_dump($foo);
    // output: string(1) "a"
    ?>
    up
    51
    grzeniufication
    7 years ago
    <?php
    /**
    * It seems you can skip listed values.
    * Here's an example to show what I mean.
    *
    * FYI works just as well with PHP 7.1 shorthand list syntax.
    * Tested against PHP 5.6.30, 7.1.5
    */
    $a = [ 1, 2, 3, 4 ];

    // this is quite normal use case for list
    echo "Unpack all values\n";
    list(    $v1, $v2, $v3, $v4) = $a;
    echo     "$v1, $v2, $v3, $v4\n";
    unset(    $v1, $v2, $v3, $v4);

    // this is what I mean:
    echo "Skip middle\n";
    list(    $v1, , , $v4) = $a;
    echo     "$v1, $v2, $v3, $v4\n";
    unset(    $v1, $v2, $v3, $v4);

    echo     "Skip beginning\n";
    list( , ,     $v3, $v4) = $a;
    echo     "$v1, $v2, $v3, $v4\n";
    unset(    $v1, $v2, $v3, $v4);

    echo     "Skip end\n";
    list(    $v1, $v2, , ) = $a;
    echo     "$v1, $v2, $v3, $v4\n";
    unset(    $v1, $v2, $v3, $v4);

    echo     "Leave middle\n";
    list( ,     $v2, $v3, ) = $a;
    echo     "$v1, $v2, $v3, $v4\n";
    unset(    $v1, $v2, $v3, $v4);
    up
    36
    pemapmodder1970 at gmail dot com
    8 years ago
    list() can be used with foreach

    <?php
    $array     = [[1, 2], [3, 4], [5, 6]];

    foreach(    $array as list($odd, $even)){
        echo     "$odd is odd; $even is even", PHP_EOL;
    }
    ?>

    The output:
    ===
    1 is odd; 2 is even
    3 is odd; 4 is even
    5 is odd; 6 is even
    up
    26
    john at jbwalker dot com
    10 years ago
    The list construct seems to look for a sequential list of indexes rather taking elements in sequence. What that obscure statement means is that if you unset an element, list will not simply jump to the next element and assign that to the variable but will treat the missing element as a null or empty variable:

        $test = array("a","b","c","d");
        unset($test[1]);
        list($a,$b,$c)=$test;
        print "\$a='$a' \$b='$b' \$c='$c'<BR>";

    results in:
    $a='a' $b='' $c='c'

    not:
    $a='a' $b='c' $c='d'
    up
    47
    svennd
    11 years ago
    The list() definition won't throw an error if your array is longer then defined list.
    <?php

    list($a, $b, $c) = array("a", "b", "c", "d");

    var_dump($a); // a
    var_dump($b); // b
    var_dump($c); // c
    ?>
    up
    6
    diyor024 at gmail dot com
    3 years ago
    Don't miss simple array pattern matching since php 7

    <?php

    [$a] = ['hello!'];
    var_dump($a); // 'hello!'

    $arr = [4 => 50];
    [    4 => $fifty] = $arr;
    var_dump($fifty); // 50

    $multidimensionalArray = [['id' => 15, 'email' => 'diyor024@gmail.com']];
    [[    'id'  => $id, 'email' => $email]] = $multidimensionalArray;
    var_dump($id, $email); // 15 diyor024@gmail.com

    ?>
    up
    3
    nek dot dev at gmail dot com
    1 year ago
    It can be convenient to specify a default value in case an element is missing in the list. You can use operator + for this:

    <?php
    $someArray     = ['color' => 'orange'];
    [    'color' => $color, 'size' => $size] = $someArray + ['color' => null, 'size' => null];
    ?>

    This will avoid the warning `Undefined array key "size"` you would encounter otherwise.
    up
    5
    vike2000 at gmail dot com
    4 years ago
    Setting it like <?php list($var1,$varN) = null ?> does _not_ raise an E_NOTICE (or other error) and afaics effectively equals an https://php.net/function.unset of $var1,$varN.

    I note this as contrasting with the fact that PHP triggers an E_NOTICE about "Undefined offset" "if there aren't enough array elements to fill the list()", as attow documented for https://php.net/control-structures.foreach#control-structures.foreach.list and here only noted in https://php.net/function.list#122951 by Mardaneus.

    For completeness, a bash(1) (v5.0 or 4.3 on macos10.13) cli test producing the same result for all my PHP-versions (installed via macports.org) follows. It's also tested with php7.3 using bash5.0 on Debian10:
    bash --noprofile --norc -c 'for php in php{{53..56},{70..73}};do for literal in "array()" null;do echo -n $php …=$literal:&&$php -n -d error_reporting=E_ALL -r "var_dump(list(\$var)=$literal);";done;done'

    # Above produces the same result pairs per version from:
    php53 …=array():
    Notice: Undefined offset: 0 in Command line code on line 1
    array(0) {
    }
    # ... to:
    php73 …=null:NULL
    up
    5
    mark at manngo dot net
    3 years ago
    For PHP 7.1 on, the documentation states that integer and string keys can be mixed, but that elements with and without keys cannot. Here is an example, using data from getimagesize() with mixed keys:

    <?php
        $data    =[
                0=> 160,
                1 => 120,
                2 => 2,
                3 => 'width="160" height="120"',
                'mime' => 'image/jpeg'
            ];
        list(    0=>$width,1=>$height,2=>$type,3=>$dimensions,'mime'=>$mime)=$data;
    ?>

    Here, the numeric keys also need to be specified, as if the whole array is treated as an associative array.

    As noted elsewhere, the list() operator can be written in array format:

    <?php
            [0=>$width,1=>$height,2=>$type,3=>$dimensions,'mime'=>$mime]=$data;
    ?>
    up
    7
    petru at fuxspam dot xtremeweb dot ro
    6 years ago
    This is something I haven't seen in documentation.

    Since PHP 7.1, you can use short-hand list unpacking using square brackets, just like short-hand array declaration:

    <?php

    $foo     = ['a', 'b', 'c'];

    // short-hand array definition
    [$a, $b, $c] = $foo;
    echo     $a; // displays "a"

    // it's same like:
    list($x, $y, $z) = $foo;
    echo     $x; // displays "a"

    ?>
    up
    3
    samraskul at gmail dot com
    3 years ago
    list($a, $b, $c) = ["blue", "money", 32];

    shortcut:

    [$a, $b, $c] = ["blue", "money", 32];
    up
    5
    Paul Marti
    5 years ago
    Since 7.1.0, you can use an array directly without list():

    <?php
    [$test, $test2] = explode(",", "hello, world");
    echo     $test . $test2; // hello, world
    ?>
    up
    5
    blazej
    7 years ago
    From PHP Version 7.1 you can specify keys in list(), or its new shorthand [] syntax. This enables destructuring of arrays with non-integer or non-sequential keys.

    <?php
    $data     = [
        [    "id" => 1, "name" => 'Tom'],
        [    "id" => 2, "name" => 'Fred'],
    ];

    // list() style
    list("id" => $id1, "name" => $name1) = $data[0];

    // [] style
    ["id" => $id1, "name" => $name1] = $data[0];

    // list() style
    foreach ($data as list("id" => $id, "name" => $name)) {
            // logic here with $id and $name
    }

    // [] style
    foreach ($data as ["id" => $id, "name" => $name]) {
            // logic here with $id and $name
    }
    up
    4
    anthony dot ossent at live dot fr
    8 years ago
    a simple example of use to swap two variables :

    $a = 'hello';
    $b = 'world';

    list($a, $b) = [$b, $a];

    echo $a . ' ' . $b; //display "world hello"

    another example :

    function getPosition($x, $y, $z)
    {
       // ... some operations like $x++...
       return [$x, $y, $z];
    }

    list($x, $y, $z) = getPosition($x ,$y, $z);
    up
    1
    contato at tobias dot ws
    6 years ago
    Since PHP 7.1 the [] may now be used as an alternative to the existing list() syntax:

    <?php
    [$number, $message] = explode('|', '123|Hello World!');
    ?>
    up
    0
    Colin Guthrie
    9 years ago
    If you want use the undefined behaviour as you might expect it e.g. if you want:

      $b = ['a','b']; list($a, $b) = $b;

    to result in $a=='a' and $b=='b', then you can just cast $b to an array (even although it already is) to create a copy. e.g.

      $b = ['a','b']; list($a, $b) = (array)$b;

    and get the expected results.
    up
    -2
    Dean
    8 years ago
    UNDOCUMENTED BEHAVIOR:

        list($a,$b,$c) = null;

    in fact works like:

        $a = null; $b = null; $c = null;

    ...So correspondingly:

        list($rows[]) = null;

    Will increment count($rows), just as if you had executed $rows[] = null;

    Watch out for this (for example) when retrieving entire tables from a database, e.g.

        while (list($rows[]) = $mysqlresult->fetch_row());

    This will leave an extra 'null' entry as the last element of $rows.
    up
    -2
    Mardaneus
    6 years ago
    Unless you specify keys when using list() it expects the array being fed into it to start at 0.

    So having the following code will result in a notice level warning "Undefined offset: 0" and variables not filling as expected

    <?php
    list($c1, $c2, $c3) = array [1 =>'a', 2 => 'b', 3 => 'c'];

    var_dump($c1); // NULL
    var_dump($c2); // string(1) "a"
    var_dump($c3); // string(1) "b"

    ?>
    up
    -3
    fredsaavedra at hotmail dot com
    4 years ago
    Easy way to get actual date and time values in variables.

    list($day,$month,$year,$hour,$minute,$second) = explode('-',date('d-m-Y-G-i-s'));
    echo "$day-$month-$year $hour".":".$minute.":".$second;
    up
    -6
    JD
    5 years ago
    As of PHP 7.3, lists now support array destructuring - see here: https://www.php.net/manual/en/migration73.new-features.php
    up
    -8
    sergey dot leonidovich dot shevchenko at gmail dot com
    3 years ago
    ['a' => $x, 'b' => $y] = ['a' => 1, 'b' => 2];

    echo $x . '-' . $y; // 1-2
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