PHP Remove/Delete Array Items
To remove an existing item from an array, you can use the unset() function.
The unset() function deletes specified variables, and can therefor be used to delete array items:
Example
Remove the second item:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<pre>
<?php
$cars = array("Volvo", "BMW", "Toyota");
unset($cars[1]);
var_dump($cars);
?>
</pre>
</body>
</html>
Output
array(2) {
[0]=>
string(5) "Volvo"
[2]=>
string(6) "Toyota"
}
• Remove Multiple Array Items
The unset() function takes a unlimited number of arguments, and can therefor be used to delete multiple array items:
Example
Remove the first and the second item:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<pre>
<?php
$cars = array("Volvo", "BMW", "Toyota");
unset($cars[0], $cars[1]);
var_dump($cars);
?>
</pre>
</body>
</html>
Output
array(1) {
[2]=>
string(6) "Toyota"
}
• Remove Item From an Associative Array
To remove items from an associative array, you can use unset() function like before, but referring to the key name instead of index.
Example
Remove the "model":
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<pre>
<?php
$cars = array("brand" => "Ford", "model" => "Mustang", "year" => 1964);
unset($cars["model"]);
var_dump($cars);
?>
</pre>
</body>
</html>
Output
array(2) {
["brand"]=>
string(4) "Ford"
["year"]=>
int(1964)
}