How to Loop Through an Array in PHP

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Minahil Noor Feb 02, 2024
PHP PHP Array
  1. Use the foreach Loop to Loop Through an Array in PHP
  2. Use the for Loop to Loop Through an Array in PHP
How to Loop Through an Array in PHP

In this article, we will introduce methods to loop through an array in PHP. Using these methods, we will traverse through an array.

  • Using the foreach loop
  • Using the for loop

Use the foreach Loop to Loop Through an Array in PHP

We can use a foreach loop to loop through an array. We can also access array elements using this loop. The correct syntax to use this loop is as follows.

foreach($arrayName as $variableName){
    //PHP code
}

If we have an associative array, we can use this loop in the following way:

foreach($arrayName as $key => $variableName){
    //PHP code
}

The detail of its parameters is as follows:

Variable Detail
$arrayName mandatory This is the array we want to traverse.
$variableName mandatory It is the variable name for array elements.
$key optional It is the variable name for keys of the array.

The foreach loop stops when it traverses the whole array.

We can use the echo() function to display the array elements.

The program below shows how we can use the foreach loop to loop through an array.

<?php 
$array = array("Rose","Lili","Jasmine","Hibiscus","Tulip","Sun Flower","Daffodil","Daisy");
foreach($array as $FlowerName){
    echo("The flower name is $FlowerName. \n");
}
?>

We have looped through a simple array and displayed its elements.

Output:

The flower name is Rose. 
The flower name is Lili. 
The flower name is Jasmine. 
The flower name is Hibiscus. 
The flower name is Tulip. 
The flower name is Sun Flower. 
The flower name is Daffodil. 
The flower name is Daisy.

Now we will loop through an associative array.

<?php 
$array = array(
    "Flower1"=>"Rose",
    "Flower2"=>"Lili",
    "Flower3"=>"Jasmine",
    "Flower4"=>"Hibiscus",
    "Flower5"=>"Tulip",
    "Flower6"=>"Sun Flower",
    "Flower7"=>"Daffodil",
    "Flower8"=>"Daisy");
foreach($array as $key=> $FlowerName){
    echo("The $key is $FlowerName. \n");
}
?>

Output:

The Flower1 is Rose. 
The Flower2 is Lili. 
The Flower3 is Jasmine. 
The Flower4 is Hibiscus. 
The Flower5 is Tulip. 
The Flower6 is Sun Flower. 
The Flower7 is Daffodil. 
The Flower8 is Daisy.

Use the for Loop to Loop Through an Array in PHP

We can also use for loop to traverse through an array. The correct syntax to use for loop is as follows:

for(initialization, condition, update){
    //PHP code
}

The detail of its processes is as follows.

Process Details
initialization mandatory We initialize the loop counter in this step.
condition mandatory In this step, we give the condition our loop will iterate.
update mandatory In this step, we update our counter variable.

The program that loops through an array using for loop is as follows:

<?php 
$array = array("Rose","Lili","Jasmine","Hibiscus","Tulip","Sun Flower","Daffodil","Daisy");
$n= sizeof($array);
for($i=0; $i<$n; $i++){
    echo("The flower name is $array[$i]. \n");
}
?>

Output:

The flower name is Rose. 
The flower name is Lili. 
The flower name is Jasmine. 
The flower name is Hibiscus. 
The flower name is Tulip. 
The flower name is Sun Flower. 
The flower name is Daffodil. 
The flower name is Daisy.

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