PHP merge single array elements into unique array

Question

I'm not sure how to work the title of this question, so sorry if it's a little confusing.

I have an array;

  Array
  (
      [username] => Array
          (
              [0] => 'a'
              [1] => 'b'
              [2] => 'c'
              [3] => 'd'
              [4] => 'e'
              [5] => 'f'
          )

      [email] => Array
          (
              [0] => 
              [1] => 
              [2] => 
              [3] => 
              [4] => 
              [5] => 
          )

      [level] => Array
          (
              [0] => 1
              [1] => 1
              [2] => 1
              [3] => 1
              [4] => 1
              [5] => 1
          )

      [role] => Array
          (
              [0] => 2
              [1] => 1
              [2] => 1
              [3] => 1
              [4] => 2
              [5] => 1
          )

      [password] => Array
          (
              [0] => 
              [1] => 
              [2] => 
              [3] => 
              [4] => 
              [5] => 
          )

      [id] => Array
          (
              [0] => 1
              [1] => 2
              [2] => 3
              [3] => 4
              [4] => 5
              [5] => 6
          )

  )

But I want it in this format:

  Array
  (
      [0] => Array
          (
              [username] => 'a'
              [id] => 'a'
              [email] => 'a'
          )
      [1] => Array
          (
              [username] => 'a'
              [id] => 'a'
              [email] => 'a'
          )
      [2] => Array
          (
              [username] => 'a'
              [id] => 'a'
              [email] => 'a'
          )
      [3] => Array
          (
              [username] => 'a'
              [id] => 'a'
              [email] => 'a'
          )
      [4] => Array
          (
              [username] => 'a'
              [id] => 'a'
              [email] => 'a'
          )
      [5] => Array
          (
              [username] => 'a'
              [id] => 'a'
              [email] => 'a'
          )

I can't seem to figure it out, arrays end too soon, or there ends up being too many indexes etc. Ideas?

Is this returned data, or an array that you're generating? Please provide the code that generates (if it's the latter). — Matt
– Matt, Commented Aug 23, 2012 at 15:52
It's returned data from a json_decode so there is no actual PHP array structure. — James
– James, Commented Aug 23, 2012 at 15:55

Matt · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-23 16:04:15Z

1

I would loop through the array and reconstruct it like so:

$index_count = count($array['username']); // in your case, this is 6

$new_array = array();
for ($i = 0; $i < $index_count; $i++) {
    $new_array[] = array(
        'username' => $array['username'][$i],
        'email' => $array['email'][$i],
        'id' => $array['id'][$i]
    );
}

UPDATE If you want this to take into consideration any and all possible keys, try this:

$keys = array_keys($array);
if (count($keys)) {
    $index_count = count($array[$keys[0]]);

    $myArray = array();
    for ($i = 0; $i < $index_count; $i++) {
        $temp = array();
        foreach($keys as $key) {
            $temp[$key] = $array[$key][$i];
        }
        $myArray[] = $temp;
    }
}

edited Aug 23, 2012 at 16:04

answered Aug 23, 2012 at 15:58

Matt

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3 Comments

James Over a year ago

I really need the keys to be dynamic though, there are many more and they could change at any time, so I shouldn't need to have to enter them manually - I should have mentioned that.

James Over a year ago

Indeed. Everything that is entered.

James Over a year ago

It's cool! I've sorted it. foreach($PL as $keyKey => $keyValue) { foreach($keyValue as $key => $val) { $rowPerUser[$key][$keyKey] = $val; // echo $keyKey; } }

Elias Van Ootegem · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-23 16:40:51Z

A different take, but here's what I would do - step by step:

First, let's get the keys - we'll be needing them a lot:

$result = array();//<-- this is the result array
$keys = array_keys($array);

Then, I'd get an empty, template array (somewhat like a model object)

$base = array_fill_keys($keys,array());
//array('username'=>array,'id'=>array(),...

Then, use that to build your result array:

$result = array_fill(0,count($array['username']),$base);
//In one-liner format, it looks like this:
$result = array_fill(0,count($array['username']),array_fill_keys(array_keys($array),array()));
//Works, but is messy as f***

Then just fill the lot, this is where that $keys variable pays off:

$length = count($result);
while ($key = array_shift($keys))
{
    for ($i=0;$i<$length;$i++)
    {
        $result[$i][$key] = $array[$key][$i];
    }
}

Note that I prefer using a while loop, as it is cleaner and (marginally) faster. Cleaner because that $keys array is being emptied as you go along. If you're working with substantial amounts of data it can sometimes make a difference. If the dataset is REALLY large, and the code has been thoroughly tested, you might even want to consider shifting from the source array (as it contains all data, it's a lot bigger than a an array containing just the keys):

while ($vals = array_shift($array))
{
    $key = array_shift($keys);//<-- keep track of what array has been shifted
    for ($i=0;$i<$length;$i++)
    {
        $result[$i][$key] = $vals[$i];
    }
}

This neatly cleans up the source array, and the keys. I've tested this last approach on my server, writecodeonline and codepad, all with exactly the same results:

$foo = array('bar'=>array_fill(0,2,'ás'),'quar'=>range('a','z'));
$keys = array_keys($foo);
while($vals = array_shift($foo))
{
    $key = array_shift($keys);
    echo $key.' contains: => '.implode(', ',$vals).'<br/>';
}

bar contains: => ás, ás

quar contains: => a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z

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