Remove specific element from array PHP

If you want to delete/remove/unset specific elements or multiple elements from an array by key, value. In this tutorial, you will learn how to use the unset() function in PHP to remove single or multiple php array elements by key, value, and index.

How to Delete Specific Element From Array By Key Value and Index using Unset() in PHP

By following these examples, you will learn how to use the unset() function in PHP to remove specific array elements by key, value, and index.

• Removing an array element by key
• Removing an array element by value
• Removing an array element by index
• Unset Multiple Keys from Array

Removing an array element by key

To remove an array element by key, you need to know the key of the element you want to remove.

Here’s an example:

<?php
$fruits = array("apple" => "red", "banana" => "yellow", "grape" => "purple");

unset($fruits["banana"]);

print_r($fruits);
?>

In above-given code, you have an array of fruits with their colors. And you want to remove the element with the key “banana” from this array. Then you need to use the unset() function and pass in the key of the element to remove.

Removing an array element by value

To remove an array element by value, you need to search for the value and get its key. Then you can remove it from array by it’s value.

Here’s an example:

<?php
$fruits = array("apple", "papaya", "grape");

$key = array_search("papaya", $fruits);
if ($key !== false) {
  unset($fruits[$key]);
}

print_r($fruits);
?>

In the above-given code, you have same array, which you have used in first example. Then, you can use the array_search() function to search for the value and get its key. If the value is found, use the unset() function to remove the element with that key.

Removing an array element by index

To remove an array element by index, you need to know the index of the element, which you want to remove.

Here’s an example:

<?php
$fruits = array("apple", "banana", "grape");

unset($fruits[1]);

print_r($fruits);
?>

Unset Multiple Keys from Array

Sometimes, you may need to remove multiple elements from an array. So, you can use a loop to iterate through the array and call unset() on each key you want to remove.

Here’s an example:

$fruits = array(
    "apple" => 0.50,
    "banana" => 0.25,
    "cherry" => 1.00,
    "grape" => 0.75,
    "orange" => 0.30
);
$keys_to_remove = array("banana", "orange");

foreach ($keys_to_remove as $key) {
    if (array_key_exists($key, $fruits)) {
        unset($fruits[$key]);
    }
}

Here’s a breakdown of the above-given code:

• First, an associative array $fruits is created, which contains a list of fruits and their respective prices. Each fruit is a key-value pair, where the fruit name is the key, and the price is the value.
• Next, an array $keys_to_remove is defined, which contains the keys (i.e., fruit names) of the elements that you want to remove from the $fruits array.
• Then, a foreach loop is used to iterate through the $keys_to_remove array. On each iteration, the loop assigns the current element to the variable $key.
• Inside the loop, array_key_exists() the function is used to check if the current key exists in the $fruits array. This is important because if you try to unset a key that does not exist in the array, PHP will not raise an error, but will simply do nothing. Therefore, we need to ensure that the key exists before calling unset().
• Finally, if the key exists in the $fruits array, the unset() the function is called to remove the element from the array. This effectively removes the element with the corresponding key from the $fruits array.

After running this code, the $fruits the array will look like this:

Array
(
    [apple] => 0.5
    [cherry] => 1
    [grape] => 0.75
)

Conclusion

The unset() a function is a powerful tool in PHP for removing array elements by key, value, and index. By following the examples in this tutorial, you can learn how to use unset() to manipulate arrays in your PHP applications effectively. Remember that unset() removes the element from the array completely, and the remaining elements will be reindexed automatically.

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