PHP array key issue

[max_naylor]

Hi there,

I have the following code accessing values from an associative array:

foreach ($genders[$lang] as $value) {

if($value==true) {

echo key($genders[$lang]);

}

next($genders[$lang]);

}

The key function however only echoes the key name of row 1, it seems to be skipping row 0. The contents of the array are:

Array ( [m] => 1 [f] => 1 [n] => 1 [c] => [mp] => [ma] => [mi] => )

So when I run the above code I get the output "fnc" instead of "mfn". It’s as if the if statement is detecting the correct row but the key function is not.

I’ve tried Googling around this but to no avail, I wonder if any of you guys can help :)


Max

[rocknbil]

Generally there's no reason to use next in a for/foreach loop, and may have something to do with it. It's not like a "next" in any other languages, it is used to advance the pointer within the loop (instead of just going to the next item.) It advances the pointer by one (one more than it would in a normal for/foreach.)

You don't need to evaluate true/false, 1/0 if your array values could be empty or null. It is, or it is not, allowing you to try a more simple method:


foreach ($genders[$lang] as $value) {
if($value) {
echo key($genders[$lang]);
}
}

[rlange]

The use of

next()

is what's messing things up. The

foreach

loop automatically advances to the next element in the array, so there's no need for you to do it "manually".

Note: It's best to be as explicit as possible. Yes,

if( $value == true )

and

if( $value )

will work if

$value

is

true

,

1

, or

"1"

, but it will also "work" if

$value

is

"foo"

. That's probably not a good thing.

Your

if( $value == true )

should be

if( $value === 1 )

(if

$value

is an actual integer) or, even better,

if( 1 === $value )

. Getting into the habit of placing the variable on the right means that you avoid this sort of "whoops!" moment:

if( $value = 1 )

.

--
Ryan