PHP array_values Function

last modified March 13, 2025

The PHP array_values function returns all values from an array and indexes the array numerically. It's useful for reindexing arrays.

Basic Definition

The array_values function extracts all values from an array. It returns a new array with sequential numeric keys starting from 0.

Syntax: array_values(array $array): array. The function preserves the order of values but resets all keys to numeric indices.

Basic array_values Example

This shows how to extract values from an associative array with string keys.

basic_array_values.php

<?php

$user = [
    'name' => 'John Doe',
    'email' => 'john@example.com',
    'age' => 30
];

$values = array_values($user);

print_r($values);

This extracts all values from the associative array. The output will be: ['John Doe', 'john@example.com', 30] with numeric indices.

Reindexing an Array

Use array_values to reset numeric keys after unset operations.

reindex_array.php

<?php

$numbers = [10 => 'a', 20 => 'b', 30 => 'c'];
unset($numbers[20]);

$reindexed = array_values($numbers);

print_r($reindexed);

After removing element 'b', the array has gaps. array_values creates a new array with sequential keys: [0 => 'a', 1 => 'c'].

Working with Mixed Arrays

array_values works with arrays containing different value types.

mixed_array.php

<?php

$mixed = [
    'a' => 'apple',
    5 => 3.14,
    'test' => true,
    null
];

$values = array_values($mixed);

print_r($values);

The function preserves all values regardless of type. The output contains: ['apple', 3.14, true, null] with new numeric indices.

Preserving Order with array_values

The function maintains the original order of elements in the array.

order_preservation.php

<?php

$unordered = [
    10 => 'ten',
    2 => 'two',
    5 => 'five'
];

$ordered = array_values($unordered);

print_r($ordered);

Despite the original non-sequential keys, the values keep their order: ['ten', 'two', 'five']. Only the indices become sequential.

Combining with Other Functions

array_values can be combined with functions like array_unique.

combined_functions.php

<?php

$duplicates = ['a', 'b', 'a', 'c', 'b', 'd'];
$unique = array_values(array_unique($duplicates));

print_r($unique);

This removes duplicates and reindexes the array. The result is: [0 => 'a', 1 => 'b', 2 => 'c', 3 => 'd'].

Best Practices

Memory Usage: Creates new array, consider memory for large arrays.
Key Preservation: Use only when keys don't matter.
Performance: Generally efficient for most use cases.
Readability: Makes code clearer when only values are needed.

Source

PHP array_values Documentation

This tutorial covered the PHP array_values function with practical examples showing its usage for array manipulation scenarios.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.

List all PHP Array Functions.

Ebooks