Return first `n` items from an array in PHP

In this post, we will see how to return first n items from an array in PHP.

1. Using `array_slice()` function

The idea is to use array_slice() function that returns a slice of an array. It returns the sequence of elements from the array as specified by the offset and length parameters.

The following code extracts the first n items from an array using the array_slice() function.

<?php

$arr = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];

$n = 3;

$slice = array_slice($arr, 0, $n);

print_r($slice);

/* Output:

Array

(

[0] => 1

[1] => 2

[2] => 3

)

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For associative arrays, the code remains similar:

<?php

$arr = array("Nick"=>"20", "John"=>"10", "Paul"=>"18");

$n = 2;

$slice = array_slice($arr, 0, $n);

print_r($slice);

/* Output:

Array

(

[Nick] => 20

[John] => 10

)

Download Run Code

2. Using `array_splice()` function

Another solution is to use the array_splice() function, which replaces a portion of the array. It can be used to get the first n elements from an array. However, this may result in unexpected behaviour since array_splice() also remove the returned items from the input array.

The following code demonstrates the usage of the array_splice() function for removing and returning the first n items from an array.

<?php

$arr = array("Nick"=>"20", "John"=>"10", "Paul"=>"18");

$n = 2;

$slice = array_splice($arr, 0, $n);

print_r($slice);

print_r($arr);

/* Output:

Array

(

[Nick] => 20

[John] => 10

)

Array

(

[Paul] => 18

)

Download Run Code

That’s all about returning first n items from an array in PHP.

Return first `n` items from an array in PHP

1. Using array_slice() function

2. Using array_splice() function

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1. Using `array_slice()` function

2. Using `array_splice()` function