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# array_search

(PHP 4 >= 4.0.5, PHP 5)

array_search -- Searches the array for a given value and returns the corresponding key if successful

## Description

mixed array_search ( mixed needle, array haystack [, bool strict] )

Searches `haystack` for `needle` and returns the key if it is found in the array, `FALSE` otherwise.

> Note: If `needle` is a string, the comparison is done in a case-sensitive manner.

> Note: Prior to PHP 4.2.0, array_search() returns `NULL` on failure instead of `FALSE`.

If the optional third parameter `strict` is set to `TRUE` then the array_search() will also check the types of the `needle` in the `haystack`.

If `needle` is found in `haystack` more than once, the first matching key is returned. To return the keys for all matching values, use array_keys() with the optional `search_value` parameter instead.

Example 1. array_search() example

`<?php $array = array(0 => 'blue', 1 => 'red', 2 => 'green', 3 => 'red'); $key = array_search('green', $array); // $key = 2; $key = array_search('red', $array); // $key = 1; ?>`

Warning
This function may return Boolean `FALSE`, but may also return a non-Boolean value which evaluates to `FALSE`, such as `0` or "". Please read the section on Booleans for more information. Use the === operator for testing the return value of this function.

See also array_keys(), array_values(), array_key_exists(), and in_array().

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