PHP Set Variable to Array Key in One Line

Question

This is going to be a very simple question, I have code that looks like this:

<?php
$rawmessage = "This is what I want.--This is all junk.";

$fmessage = explode("--", $rawmessage);
//Alt. Universe #1: $fmessage = $fmessage[0];

echo $fmessage[0]; //"This is what I want."
//Alt. Universe #1: echo $fmessage;
?>

Now I know how stupid this may sound, but is there a way I can assign $fmessage to [0] in one line? Because 1) I don't want to write $fmessage[0], it doesn't need to be an array at this point, and 2) I want to know if this is doable because this isn't the first time I've wanted to set only one part of the array to a variable. Example of what I want to write (in my fantasy land, of course. This throws an error in reality.)

<?php
$rawmessage = "This is what I want.--This is all junk.";

$fmessage = explode("--", $rawmessage)[0];
//In my fantasy land, adding the [0] means that the array's key [0] value is set to $fmessage

echo $fmessage; //"This is what I want." For real.
?>

Your fantasy land array dereferencing actually works with the latest code in the PHP trunk, so maybe that feature will show up in PHP 5.4. — Matthew
– Matthew, Commented Dec 7, 2010 at 5:53
Say wha? I should be a PHP developer if I'm thinking that ahead! :P — NessDan
– NessDan, Commented Dec 7, 2010 at 5:55
You can only be a PHP dev if you consider using a :) for a namespace separator :P — alex
– alex, Commented Dec 7, 2010 at 5:56
@alex I had to think real hard to make up the --! And also, bit.ly/bBwlZw — NessDan
– NessDan, Commented Dec 7, 2010 at 6:03

alex · Accepted Answer · 2010-12-07 05:51:31Z

4

list($fmessage) = explode('--', $rawmessage);

list() isn't a function, but a PHP language construct (or just an operator that looks like a function).

It will unpack array members into local variables...

$array = array('a', 'b', 'c');

list($a, $b, $c) = $array;

var_dump($a, $b, $c);

Outputs...

string(1) "a"
string(1) "b"
string(1) "c"

edited Dec 7, 2010 at 5:51

answered Dec 7, 2010 at 5:45

alex

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3 Comments

Jacob Relkin Over a year ago

You're too damn quick! ;-) +1

NessDan Over a year ago

That was incredibly fast O_O. Just so I'm clear though, should I be expecting a visit from the PHP developers and receive a slap on the wrist for bad practice or is this A-OH-KAY?

alex Over a year ago

@NessDan This is fine, so long as you don't abuse it. Basically this is a terser version of your posted code, with the same result at the end, so that is OK.

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