count

(PHP 3, PHP 4 )

count -- Count elements in a variable

Description

int count (mixed var)

Returns the number of elements in var, which is typically an array (since anything else will have one element).

Returns 1 if the variable is not an array.

Returns 0 if the variable is not set.

Warning

Count() may return 0 for a variable that isn't set, but it may also return 0 for a variable that has been initialized with an empty array. Use isset() to test if a variable is set.

Example 1. Count() example

$a[0] = 1; 
$a[1] = 3; 
$a[2] = 5; 
$result = count ($a);
//$result == 3, not 2, as there are 3 assigned elements

$a[2] = 1; 
$a[4] = ""; 
$a[6] = 5;
$a[8] = 7;
$a[10] = 11;
$a[12] = "";
$result = count ($a);
// $result == 4, as there are 4 assigned elements
      

See also: sizeof(), isset(), and is_array().