PHP MySQL - Stilson.net

www.it-ebooks.infoCHAPTER 5 • ARRAYSSubdividing an ArrayThe array_chunk() function breaks input_array into a multidimensional array that includes severalsmaller arrays consisting of size elements. Its prototype follows:array array_chunk(array array, int size [, boolean preserve_keys])If the input_array can’t be evenly divided by size, the last array will consist of fewer than sizeelements. Enabling the optional parameter preserve_keys will preserve each value’s corresponding key.Omitting or disabling this parameter results in numerical indexing starting from zero for each array. Anexample follows:$cards = array("jh", "js", "jd", "jc", "qh", "qs", "qd", "qc","kh", "ks", "kd", "kc", "ah", "as", "ad", "ac");// shuffle the cardsshuffle($cards);// Use array_chunk() to divide the cards into four equal "hands"$hands = array_chunk($cards, 4);print_r($hands);This returns the following (your results will vary because of the shuffle):Array ( [0] => Array ( [0] => jc [1] => ks [2] => js [3] => qd )[1] => Array ( [0] => kh [1] => qh [2] => jd [3] => kd )[2] => Array ( [0] => jh [1] => kc [2] => ac [3] => as )[3] => Array ( [0] => ad [1] => ah [2] => qc [3] => qs ) )SummaryArrays play an indispensable role in programming and are ubiquitous in every imaginable type ofapplication, web-based or not. The purpose of this chapter was to bring you up to speed regarding manyof the PHP functions that will make your programming life much easier as you deal with these arrays.The next chapter focuses on yet another very important topic: object-oriented programming. Thistopic has a particularly special role in PHP 5 because the process was entirely redesigned for this majorrelease.133