array_chunk

The PHP array_chunk syntax would be like the below.

<?php
   
  $array = array(
    "Ahmed",
    "Khaled",
    "Mohamed",
    "Tarek", 
    "Peter",
    "Michael",
    "Celinia",
    "Dalida"
  );
  
  $chunked = array_chunk( $array, 3 );
  print_r( $chunked ); // will show you 3 chunks per array
?><?php
   
  $array = array(
    "Ahmed",
    "Khaled",
    "Mohamed",
    "Tarek", 
    "Peter",
    "Michael",
    "Celinia",
    "Dalida"
  );
  
  $chunked = array_chunk( $array, 3 );
  print_r( $chunked ); // will show you 3 chunks per array
?>

The output:

Array
(
    [0] => Array
        (
            [0] => Ahmed
            [1] => Khaled
            [2] => Mohamed
        )

    [1] => Array
        (
            [0] => Tarek
            [1] => Peter
            [2] => Michael
        )

    [2] => Array
        (
            [0] => Celinia
            [1] => Dalida
        )

)

The PHP array_chunk is a built-in function used to split the arrays into small arrays according to the needed size.

PHP array_chunk() Parameters

The array_chunk takes 3 parameters as the following:

• Array : required argument.
• Size: An integer value, refers to the number of elements for the new created arrays.
• Preserving the key: this is an optional, and it takes boolean value. This argument allows you to choose true or false according to the below.
  • True: if you need to keep the same key of the old array
  • False: to reset each array with a new index (the default option).

The basic syntax would be like the below.

<em>array_chunk( ARRAY, SIZE, PRESERVE_ARRAY)</em>array_chunk( ARRAY, SIZE, PRESERVE_ARRAY)

Let’s take examples.

Examples

In the following example, I will split the following array into 2 chunks.

<?php
  
  $programming_languages = array(
     "PHP",
     "C++",
     "Python",
     "C#",
     "C",
     "JavaScript",
     "Java",
     "Prolog"
  ); 
  
  array_chunk( $programming_languages, 2 );

?><?php
  
  $programming_languages = array(
     "PHP",
     "C++",
     "Python",
     "C#",
     "C",
     "JavaScript",
     "Java",
     "Prolog"
  ); 
  
  array_chunk( $programming_languages, 2 );

?>

This array_chunk( $programming_languages, 2 ); will reset the index for each chunked array. Because the third argument will be a false value by default. So the final output when you print this array would be like the below.

Array
(
    [0] => Array
        (
            [0] => Ahmed
            [1] => Khaled
            [2] => Mohamed
        )

    [1] => Array
        (
            [0] => Tarek
            [1] => Peter
            [2] => Michael
        )

    [2] => Array
        (
            [0] => Celinia
            [1] => Dalida
        )

)

Check each child array, you will see each one started from 0 as index. But if you need to keep the same old indexes of the main array. You have to pass a true boolean value as a third argument like the below example.

<?php
    array_chunk( $programming_languages, 2, true );
?><?php
    array_chunk( $programming_languages, 2, true );
?>

When you print the array, would print the same following output:

Array
(
    [0] => Array
        (
            [0] => PHP
            [1] => C++
        )

    [1] => Array
        (
            [2] => Python
            [3] => C#
        )

    [2] => Array
        (
            [4] => C
            [5] => Javascript
        )

    [3] => Array
        (
            [6] => Java
            [7] => Prolog
        )

)

Wrapping Up

The PHP array_chunk is a built-in function used to split the arrays into small arrays according to the needed size. It takes 3 arguments as the below:

• Array
• Size of chunks
• Preserve Keys

The basic expression would be like the below one.

array_chunk( ARRAY, SIZE, PRESERVE_KEYS );array_chunk( ARRAY, SIZE, PRESERVE_KEYS );

If you need more details, visit PHP manual.