in_array

(PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7)

in_arrayChecks if a value exists in an array

Descrierea

in_array ( mixed $needle , array $haystack , bool $strict = false ) : bool

Searches for needle in haystack using loose comparison unless strict is set.

Parametri

needle

The searched value.

Notă:

If needle is a string, the comparison is done in a case-sensitive manner.

haystack

The array.

strict

If the third parameter strict is set to true then the in_array() function will also check the types of the needle in the haystack.

Valorile întoarse

Returns true if needle is found in the array, false otherwise.

Exemple

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('1.10'12.41.13);

if (
in_array('12.4'$atrue)) {
    echo 
"'12.4' found with strict check\n";
}

if (
in_array(1.13$atrue)) {
    echo 
"1.13 found with strict check\n";
}
?>

Exemplul de mai sus va afișa:

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";
}
?>

Exemplul de mai sus va afișa:

  'ph' was found
  'o' was found

A se vedea și

  • array_search() - Searches the array for a given value and returns the first corresponding key if successful
  • isset() - Determină dacă o variablă este declarată și diferă de null
  • array_key_exists() - Checks if the given key or index exists in the array

add a note add a note

User Contributed Notes 8 notes

up
398
beingmrkenny at gmail dot com
13 years ago
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

?>
up
1
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;
}
up
1
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.
up
8
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.
up
1
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.
up
-2
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!');

?>
up
-7
Anonymous
2 years ago
$a = new StdClass();
$b = new StdClass();

// Expected: false, got: true
var_dump(in_array($a, [$b]));
// bool(true)

// Works fine
var_dump(in_array($a, [$b], true));
// bool(false)
up
-23
Anonymous
2 years ago
$a = new StdClass();
$b = new StdClass();

// Expected: false, got: true
var_dump(in_array($a, [$b]));
// bool(true)

// Works fine
var_dump(in_array($a, [$b], true));
// bool(false)
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