php-doc-en/reference/array/functions/list.xml

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<!-- $Revision: 1.12 $ -->
<!-- splitted from ./en/functions/array.xml, last change in rev 1.2 -->
  <refentry id="function.list">
   <refnamediv>
    <refname>list</refname>
    <refpurpose>
     Assign variables as if they were an array
    </refpurpose>
   </refnamediv>
   <refsect1>
    <title>Description</title>
     <methodsynopsis>
      <type>void</type><methodname>list</methodname>
      <methodparam><type>mixed</type><parameter>varname</parameter></methodparam>
      <methodparam rep="repeat"><type>mixed</type><parameter>...</parameter></methodparam>
     </methodsynopsis>
    <para>
     Like <function>array</function>, this is not really a function,
     but a language construct.  <function>list</function> is used to
     assign a list of variables in one operation.
    </para>
    <note>
     <para>
      <function>list</function> only works on numerical arrays and assumes 
      the numerical indices start at 0.
     </para>
    </note>
    <para>
     <example>
      <title><function>list</function> examples</title>
      <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php

$info = array('coffee', 'brown', 'caffeine');

// Listing all the variables
list($drink, $color, $power) = $info;
echo "$drink is $color and $power makes it special.\n";

// Listing some of them
list($drink, , $power) = $info;
echo "$drink has $power.\n";

// Or let's skip to only the third one
list( , , $power) = $info;
echo "I need $power!\n";

?>
]]>
      </programlisting>
     </example>
    </para>
    <para>
     <example>
      <title>An example use of <function>list</function></title>     
      <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<table>
 <tr>
  <th>Employee name</th>
  <th>Salary</th>
 </tr>

<?php

$result = mysql_query("SELECT id, name, salary FROM employees", $conn);
while (list($id, $name, $salary) = mysql_fetch_row($result)) {
    echo " <tr>\n" .
          "  <td><a href=\"info.php?id=$id\">$name</a></td>\n" .
          "  <td>$salary</td>\n" .
          " </tr>\n";
}

?>

</table>
]]>
      </programlisting>
     </example>
    </para>
    <warning>
     <para>
      <function>list</function> assigns the values starting with the right-most
      parameter. If you are using plain variables, you don't have to worry
      about this. But if you are using arrays with indices you usually expect
      the order of the indices in the array the same you wrote in the
      <function>list</function> from left to right; which it isn't. It's
      assigned in the reverse order.
     </para>
    </warning>
    <para>
     <example>
      <title>Using <function>list</function> with array indices</title>
      <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php

$info = array('coffee', 'brown', 'caffeine');

list($a[0], $a[1], $a[2]) = $info;

var_dump($a);

?>
]]>
      </programlisting>
      <para>
       Gives the following output (note the order of the elements compared in
       which order they were written in the <function>list</function> syntax):
      </para>
      <screen>
<![CDATA[
array(3) {
  [2]=>
  string(8) "caffeine"
  [1]=>
  string(5) "brown"
  [0]=>
  string(6) "coffee"
}
]]>
      </screen>
     </example>
    </para>
    <para>
     See also <function>each</function>, <function>array</function> 
     and <function>extract</function>.
    </para>
   </refsect1>
  </refentry>

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