PHP array_column to return with values only

Question

Is it possible to get a result from array_column that has values only?

sample array i want to array_column

$array = [
   ['name' => ''],
   ['name' => 'John'],
   ['name' => 'Doe']
]

when i use array_column this is what i get

Array
(
    [0] => 
    [1] => John
    [2] => Doe
)

I was going to just use foreach and check each and every value but i was wondering if there is a much easier way to do this

thanks

Can you show what your expected results are? – Nigel Ren Aug 05 '20 at 18:33 — Nigel Ren, Aug 05 '20 at 18:33
my expected result should be [0 => 'John', 1 => 'Doe'] – royudev Aug 06 '20 at 16:39 — royudev, Aug 06 '20 at 16:39

The Alpha · Accepted Answer · 2020-08-05T18:59:32.530

I think you want something like this (to get only the columns which has a value):

$array = [
    ['name' => ''],
    ['name' => 'John'],
    ['name' => 'Doe']
];

$result = array_filter(array_column($array, 'name'));

The array_filter will filter out empty names and you'll get something like this:

// print_r($result);

Array
(
    [1] => John
    [2] => Doe
)

Also, if you need to reorder the indices then you can use array_values like this:

$result = array_filter(array_column($array, 'name'));

// If you want to reorder the indices
$result = array_values($result);

// print_r($result);

Array
(
    [0] => John
    [1] => Doe
)

Just be aware that this will filter out empty strings, false, null and 0. — AbraCadaver, Aug 05 '20 at 19:04

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 05 '20 at 18:54

You could also do this to remove both null and empty values:

// PHP 7.4+
$result = array_filter(array_column($array, 'name'), fn($val) => !is_null($val) && $val !== '');

// PHP 5.3 and later
$result = array_filter(array_column($array, 'name'), function($val) { return !is_null($val) && $val !== ''; });

PHP array_column to return with values only

2 Answers2