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# array_shift

(PHP 4, PHP 5)

array_shift -- Shift an element off the beginning of array

## Description

mixed array_shift ( array &array )

array_shift() shifts the first value of the `array` off and returns it, shortening the `array` by one element and moving everything down. All numerical array keys will be modified to start counting from zero while literal keys won't be touched. If `array` is empty (or is not an array), `NULL` will be returned.

> Note: This function will reset() the array pointer after use.

Example 1. array_shift() example

`<?php $stack = array("orange", "banana", "apple", "raspberry"); $fruit = array_shift($stack); print_r($stack); ?>`

This would result in `$stack` having 3 elements left:

`Array ( [0] => banana [1] => apple [2] => raspberry )`

and `orange` will be assigned to `$fruit`.

See also array_unshift(), array_push(), and array_pop().

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