PHP list() Function

The PHP list() is not really a function, but a language construct and used to assign values to a list of variables in one operation.

Note: Before PHP 7.1.0, list() only worked on numerical arrays and assumes the numerical indices start at 0.

Syntax

list(var, vars)

Parameters

`var`	`Required.` Specify a variable to assign a value to.
`vars`	`Optional.` Specify a variable to assign a value to. Multiple parameters are allowed.

Return Value

Returns the assigned array.

Example: list() example

The example below shows the usage of list() function.

<?php
$info = array("John", 25, "London");

//listing all the variables
list($name, $age, $city) = $info;
echo "$name is $age years old. He lives in $city.\n";

//listing some of them
list($name, , $city) = $info;
echo "$name lives in $city.\n";

//skip to the third one
list( , , $city) = $info;
echo "I love $city!\n";

//list() doesn't work with strings
list($city) = "London";
var_dump($city);
?>

The output of the above code will be:

John is 25 years old. He lives in London.
John lives in London.
I love London!
NULL

Example: using nested list()

The example below shows how to use nested list.

<?php
$info = array("John", array(25, "London"));

//listing all the variables
list($name, list($age, $city)) = $info;
echo "$name is $age years old. He lives in $city.";
?>

The output of the above code will be:

John is 25 years old. He lives in London.

Example: list() with keys

A list with keys can also be used where mixing of integer and string keys are allowed. However, elements with and without keys cannot be mixed. Consider the example below:

<?php
$info1 = array('name'=>'John',
              'age'=>25,
              'city'=>'London');

//listing variables (with string keys)
list('name'=>$x, 'age'=>$y, 'city'=>$z) = $info1;
echo "$x is $y years old. He lives in $z.\n";

$info2 = array('name'=>'Marry',
               'London',
               'Paris');

//listing variables (with mixed keys)
list('name'=>$a, 0=>$c, 1=>$d) = $info2;
echo "$a moved from $c to $d recently.";
?>

The output of the above code will be:

John is 25 years old. He lives in London.
Marry moved from London to Paris recently.

❮ PHP Array Reference