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# count

(PHP 3, PHP 4 )

count -- Count elements in a variable

## Description

int count ( mixed var)

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`).

Warning
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
    $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;

> Note: The sizeof() function is an alias for count().

See also is_array(), isset(), and strlen().

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