Description
int
count ( mixed var [, int mode])
Returns the number of elements in var,
which is typically an array (since anything else will have
one element).
If var is not an array, 1 will
be returned (exception: count(NULL) equals
0).
Note:
The optional mode parameter is available as of
PHP 4.2.0.
If the optional mode parameter is set to
COUNT_RECURSIVE (or 1), count()
will recursively count the array. This is particularly useful for
counting all the elements of a multidimensional array. The default
value for mode is 0.
| Caution |
count() may return 0 for a variable that
isn't set, but it may also return 0 for a variable that has
been initialized with an empty array. Use
isset() to test if a variable is set.
|
Please see the Arrays
section of the manual for a detailed explanation of how arrays
are implemented and used in PHP.
Example 1. count() example
<?php
$a[0] = 1;
$a[1] = 3;
$a[2] = 5;
$result = count($a);
// $result == 3
$b[0] = 7;
$b[5] = 9;
$b[10] = 11;
$result = count($b);
// $result == 3;
?>
|
|
Example 2.
recursive count() example (PHP >= 4.2.0)
<?php
$food = array('fruits' => array('orange', 'banana', 'apple'),
'veggie' => array('carrot', 'collard', 'pea'));
// recursive count
echo count($food, COUNT_RECURSIVE); // output 8
// normal count
echo count($food); // output 2
?>
|
|
See also is_array(),
isset(), and
strlen().
