PHP

PHP

๐Ÿ“ฅ PHP array_push() Function: Appending Elements to Arrays

The array_push() function in PHP pushes one or more elements onto the end of an array. It treats the array as a stack and increases the array length by the number of passed elements.

  • Return Value: array_push() modifies the target array directly (passed by reference) and returns the total number of elements in the array after the operation.

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Basic Syntax & Usage

You can push a single element or multiple values separated by commas in a single function call:

PHP
$fruits = ["Apple", "Banana"];

// Pushing a single element
array_push($fruits, "Cherry");

// Pushing multiple elements at once
array_push($fruits, "Date", "Elderberry");

print_r($fruits);
/*
Output:
Array
(
    [0] => Apple
    [1] => Banana
    [2] => Cherry
    [3] => Date
    [4] => Elderberry
)
*/

โšก Performance Tip: array_push() vs. $array[] Syntax

If you only need to add one single element to an array, using the square bracket assignment syntax $array[] = $value is faster because it avoids calling a function overhead.

PHP
$users = ["Alice", "Bob"];

// Recommended for single values (Faster & Cleaner)
$users[] = "Charlie";

// Use array_push() primarily when adding multiple values at once
array_push($users, "David", "Emma");

print_r($users);

๐Ÿ“‹ Key Rules & Behaviors

  • 1. Modification by Reference: The array is passed by reference (&$array), meaning the original array variable is directly modified.
  • 2. Numeric Indexing: Newly pushed elements are always assigned auto-incremented numeric integer keys, even if the array previously contained string keys.
  • 3. Type Requirement: The first argument must be an array. Passing a non-array variable throws an ArgumentCountError or TypeError in modern PHP versions.

๐Ÿ“Š Method Comparison

Approach Syntax Multiple Values Performance
Square Brackets $arr[] = $val; No (Single value per call) Faster (Direct memory allocation)
array_push() array_push($arr, $v1, $v2); Yes (Variadic parameters) Slightly slower (Function call overhead)

  • ๐Ÿ“ Short Summary

  • array_push() adds one or more values onto the end of an array.
  • Prefer $array[] = $value when appending a single element for better execution speed.
  • The function directly mutates the source array and returns the updated total element count.
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