{"id":1065,"date":"2021-04-12T15:01:22","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T15:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phptutorial.net\/?page_id=1065"},"modified":"2025-04-06T03:13:47","modified_gmt":"2025-04-06T03:13:47","slug":"php-array_unshift","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.phptutorial.net\/php-tutorial\/php-array_unshift\/","title":{"rendered":"PHP array_unshift"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Summary<\/strong>: in this tutorial, you will learn how to use the PHP <code>array_unshift()<\/code> function to prepend one or more elements to the beginning of an array.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='introduction-to-the-php-array_unshift-function'>Introduction to the PHP array_unshift() function <a href=\"#introduction-to-the-php-array_unshift-function\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"introduction-to-the-php-array_unshift-function\" title=\"Anchor for Introduction to the PHP array_unshift() function\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To prepend one or more elements to an array, you use the <code>array_unshift()<\/code> function:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-1\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PHP\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"php\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-php\">array_unshift ( <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">array<\/span> &amp;$array , mixed ...$values ) : int<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-1\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PHP<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">php<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>In this syntax:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><code>$array<\/code> is the input array<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>$values<\/code> is the values to prepend<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The <code>array_unshift()<\/code> returns the new number of elements in the array.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that the <code>array_unshift()<\/code> function modifies the original array. The <code>array_unshift()<\/code> function prepends the elements to the input array as a whole. It preserves the prepended elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the <code>array_unshift()<\/code> function adds the new elements to the beginning of the input array, it changes the indexes to start from zero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='php-array_unshift-examples'>PHP array_unshift() examples <a href=\"#php-array_unshift-examples\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"php-array_unshift-examples\" title=\"Anchor for PHP array_unshift() examples\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s take some examples of using the PHP <code>array_unshift()<\/code> function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='prepend-one-element-to-an-array'>Prepend one element to an array <a href=\"#prepend-one-element-to-an-array\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"prepend-one-element-to-an-array\" title=\"Anchor for Prepend one element to an array\">#<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The following example uses the <code>array_unshift()<\/code> function to prepend an element to the beginning of an array:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-2\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PHP\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"php\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-php\"><span class=\"hljs-meta\">&lt;?php<\/span>\n\n$permissions = &#91;\n\t<span class=\"hljs-string\">'edit'<\/span>,\n\t<span class=\"hljs-string\">'delete'<\/span>,\n\t<span class=\"hljs-string\">'view'<\/span>\n];\n\narray_unshift($permissions, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'new'<\/span>);\n\nprint_r($permissions);<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-2\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PHP<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">php<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/phptutorial.net\/playground\/?q=PD9waHAKCiRwZXJtaXNzaW9ucyA9IFsKCSdlZGl0JywKCSdkZWxldGUnLAoJJ3ZpZXcnCl07CgphcnJheV91bnNoaWZ0KCRwZXJtaXNzaW9ucywgJ25ldycpOwoKcHJpbnRfcigkcGVybWlzc2lvbnMpOw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-3\" data-shcb-language-name=\"plaintext\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"plaintext\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-plaintext\">Array\n(\n    &#91;0] =&gt; new\n    &#91;1] =&gt; edit\n    &#91;2] =&gt; delete\n    &#91;3] =&gt; view\n)<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-3\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">plaintext<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">plaintext<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>How it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>First, define an array with three elements.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Second, prepend the <code>'new'<\/code> element to the beginning of the array.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Third, show the elements of the array using the <code>print_r()<\/code> function.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see clearly from the output, the <code>'new'<\/code> element gets the index zero while the existing indexes change accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='prepend-multiple-elements-to-an-array'>Prepend multiple elements to an array <a href=\"#prepend-multiple-elements-to-an-array\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"prepend-multiple-elements-to-an-array\" title=\"Anchor for Prepend multiple elements to an array\">#<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The following example uses the <code>array_unshift()<\/code> to prepend three elements to the beginning of an array:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-4\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PHP\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"php\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-php\"><span class=\"hljs-meta\">&lt;?php<\/span>\n\n$permissions = &#91;\n\t<span class=\"hljs-string\">'edit'<\/span>,\n\t<span class=\"hljs-string\">'delete'<\/span>,\n\t<span class=\"hljs-string\">'view'<\/span>\n];\n\narray_unshift($permissions, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'new'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'approve'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'reject'<\/span>);\n\nprint_r($permissions);<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-4\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PHP<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">php<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/phptutorial.net\/playground\/?q=PD9waHAKCiRwZXJtaXNzaW9ucyA9IFsKCSdlZGl0JywKCSdkZWxldGUnLAoJJ3ZpZXcnCl07CgphcnJheV91bnNoaWZ0KCRwZXJtaXNzaW9ucywgJ25ldycsICdhcHByb3ZlJywgJ3JlamVjdCcpOwoKcHJpbnRfcigkcGVybWlzc2lvbnMpOw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-5\" data-shcb-language-name=\"plaintext\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"plaintext\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-plaintext\">Array\n(\n    &#91;0] =&gt; new\n    &#91;1] =&gt; approve\n    &#91;2] =&gt; reject\n    &#91;3] =&gt; edit\n    &#91;4] =&gt; delete\n    &#91;5] =&gt; view\n)<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-5\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">plaintext<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">plaintext<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='prepending-an-element-to-the-beginning-of-an-associative-array'>Prepending an element to the beginning of an associative array <a href=\"#prepending-an-element-to-the-beginning-of-an-associative-array\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"prepending-an-element-to-the-beginning-of-an-associative-array\" title=\"Anchor for Prepending an element to the beginning of an associative array\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To prepend an element to an associative array, you use the + operator. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-6\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PHP\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"php\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-php\"><span class=\"hljs-meta\">&lt;?php<\/span>\n\n$colors = &#91;\n\t<span class=\"hljs-string\">'red'<\/span> =&gt; <span class=\"hljs-string\">'#ff000'<\/span>,\n\t<span class=\"hljs-string\">'green'<\/span> =&gt; <span class=\"hljs-string\">'#00ff00'<\/span>,\n\t<span class=\"hljs-string\">'blue'<\/span> =&gt; <span class=\"hljs-string\">'#0000ff'<\/span>,\n];\n\n$colors = &#91;<span class=\"hljs-string\">'black'<\/span> =&gt; <span class=\"hljs-string\">'#000000'<\/span>] + $colors;\n\nprint_r($colors);<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-6\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PHP<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">php<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/phptutorial.net\/playground\/?q=PD9waHAKCiRjb2xvcnMgPSBbCgkncmVkJyA9PiAnI2ZmMDAwJywKCSdncmVlbicgPT4gJyMwMGZmMDAnLAoJJ2JsdWUnID0-ICcjMDAwMGZmJywKXTsKCiRjb2xvcnMgPSBbJ2JsYWNrJyA9PiAnIzAwMDAwMCddICsgJGNvbG9yczsKCnByaW50X3IoJGNvbG9ycyk7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-7\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PHP\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"php\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-php\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">Array<\/span>\n(\n    &#91;black] =&gt; <span class=\"hljs-comment\">#000000<\/span>\n    &#91;red] =&gt; <span class=\"hljs-comment\">#ff000<\/span>\n    &#91;green] =&gt; <span class=\"hljs-comment\">#00ff00<\/span>\n    &#91;blue] =&gt; <span class=\"hljs-comment\">#0000ff<\/span>\n)<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-7\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PHP<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">php<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='summary'>Summary <a href=\"#summary\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"summary\" title=\"Anchor for Summary\">#<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use the PHP <code>array_prepend()<\/code> function to prepend one or more elements to the beginning of an array.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"helpful-block-content\" data-title=\"\">\n\t<header>\n\t\t<div class=\"wth-question\">Did you find this tutorial useful?<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wth-thumbs\">\n\t\t\t<button\n\t\t\t\tdata-post=\"1065\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-post-url=\"https:\/\/www.phptutorial.net\/php-tutorial\/php-array_unshift\/\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-post-title=\"PHP array_unshift\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-response=\"1\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"wth-btn-rounded wth-yes-btn\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t<svg\n\t\t\t\t\txmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"\n\t\t\t\t\tviewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"\n\t\t\t\t\tfill=\"none\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstroke=\"currentColor\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstroke-width=\"2\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstroke-linecap=\"round\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstroke-linejoin=\"round\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"feather feather-thumbs-up block w-full h-full\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t<path\n\t\t\t\t\t\td=\"M14 9V5a3 3 0 0 0-3-3l-4 9v11h11.28a2 2 0 0 0 2-1.7l1.38-9a2 2 0 0 0-2-2.3zM7 22H4a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-7a2 2 0 0 1 2-2h3\"\n\t\t\t\t\t><\/path>\n\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\"> Yes <\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t<button\n\t\t\t\tdata-response=\"0\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-post=\"1065\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-post-url=\"https:\/\/www.phptutorial.net\/php-tutorial\/php-array_unshift\/\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-post-title=\"PHP array_unshift\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"wth-btn-rounded wth-no-btn\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t<svg\n\t\t\t\t\txmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"\n\t\t\t\t\tviewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"\n\t\t\t\t\tfill=\"none\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstroke=\"currentColor\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstroke-width=\"2\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstroke-linecap=\"round\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstroke-linejoin=\"round\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t<path\n\t\t\t\t\t\td=\"M10 15v4a3 3 0 0 0 3 3l4-9V2H5.72a2 2 0 0 0-2 1.7l-1.38 9a2 2 0 0 0 2 2.3zm7-13h2.67A2.31 2.31 0 0 1 22 4v7a2.31 2.31 0 0 1-2.33 2H17\"\n\t\t\t\t\t><\/path>\n\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\"> No <\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\t<div class=\"wth-form hidden\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wth-form-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wth-title\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<textarea class=\"wth-message\"><\/textarea>\n\n\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-primary wth-btn-submit\">Send<\/button>\n\t\t\t<button class=\"btn wth-btn-cancel\">Cancel<\/button>\n\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn how to use the PHP array_unshift() function to prepend one or more elements to the beginning of an array. Introduction to the PHP array_unshift() function # To prepend one or more elements to an array, you use the array_unshift() function: In this syntax: The array_unshift() returns the new [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":15,"menu_order":45,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1065","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.phptutorial.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.phptutorial.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.phptutorial.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.phptutorial.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.phptutorial.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1065"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.phptutorial.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3051,"href":"https:\/\/www.phptutorial.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1065\/revisions\/3051"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.phptutorial.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.phptutorial.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}