PHP count()

PHP Array Length: Main Tips

• This function is used to get the number of elements in an array (in other words, to get PHP array length).
• Introduced in PHP 4, though mode parameter used for multidimensional arrays only appeared in PHP 4.2.

count() Function

To get you started, we'll view a simple example. In it, we have an array called $fruits. Using PHP count()function, we will be able to easily count the elements in contains, or define PHP array length:

<?php
  $fruits = ['Banana', 'Cherry', 'Apple'];
  echo "Result: " . count($fruits);
?>

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Learn Proper Syntax

If we wish our PHP count() function to work and let us get PHP array length easily, we should follow the syntax described below:

count(array, mode);

The parameters are explained in more detail in the table that follows:

Counting Examples

The example we have here is meant to show you the difference between different PHP array size counting modes. In it, $fruits is a multidimensional array that contains three arrays that have seven elements between them. Using different modes fetches us different PHP array sizes:

<?php
   $fruit = [
      'Banana' => ['Green', 'Yellow'],
      'Apple' => ['Green', 'Yellow', 'Red'],
      'Berry' => ['Blueberry', 'Strawberry']
   ]; 
   echo "Normal count: " . count($fruit)."<br>";
   echo "Multidimensional count: " . count($fruit, 1);
?>

Let's see a few more examples of getting PHP array length using count():

<?php
   $fruit = [
      'Banana' => ['Green', 'Yellow'],
      'Apple' => ['Green', 'Yellow', 'Red'],
      'Berry' => ['Blueberry', 'Strawberry']
   ]; 
   echo "Normal count: " . count($fruit)."<br>";
   echo "Multidimensional count: " . count($fruit, 1);
?>

<?php
   $fruits = ['Banana', 'Cherry', 'Peach'];
   $array_length = count($fruits);
   echo "Result: " . $array_length;
?>