How to remove the first element from an array in PHP

Topic: PHP / MySQLPrev|Next

Answer: Use the PHP array_shift() function

You can use the PHP array_shift() function to remove the first element or value from an array. The array_shift() function also returns the removed value of array. However, if the array is empty (or the variable is not an array), the returned value will be NULL.

Let's try out the following example to understand how this method works:

<?php
$hobbies = array("Acting", "Drawing", "Music", "Films", "Photography");
 
// Deleting first array item
$removed = array_shift($hobbies);
print_r($hobbies);
echo "<br>";
var_dump($removed);
?>

Related FAQ

Here are some more FAQ related to this topic:

• How to remove the last element from an array in PHP
• How to remove duplicate values from an array in PHP
• How to delete an element from an array in PHP