How to Get first N number of Elements From an Array in PHP?

Given an array, the task is to get the first N number of elements from the array in PHP. There are various approaches to achieve this task. In this article, we will explore all approaches with detailed explanations.

These are the following approaches:

Using array_slice() Function

The array_slice() function is a basic method to get the first N elements from an array. It extracts a portion of an array and returns it.

Example: This example shows the checking of if an array is a subset of another array using array_diff() function.

<?php

$arr = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6];
$N = 3;
$firstNElements = array_slice($arr, 0, $N);
print_r($firstNElements);

?>

Array
(
    [0] => 1
    [1] => 2
    [2] => 3
)

Using for Loop

Using a for loop provides a more manual approach to extract the first N elements from an array.

Example: This example shows the checking of if an array is a subset of another array using for loop.

<?php

$arr = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6];
$N = 3;
$firstNElements = [];

for ($i = 0; $i < $N && $i < count($arr); $i++) {
    $firstNElements[] = $arr[$i];
}

print_r($firstNElements);

?>

Array
(
    [0] => 1
    [1] => 2
    [2] => 3
)

Using foreach Loop

The foreach loop offers another way to achieve this, especially when you want to make the code more readable.

Example: This example shows the checking of if an array is a subset of another array using foreach loop.

<?php

$arr = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6];
$N = 3;
$firstNElements = [];
$count = 0;

foreach ($arr as $value) {
    if ($count++ < $N) {
        $firstNElements[] = $value;
    } else {
        break;
    }
}

print_r($firstNElements);

?>

Array
(
    [0] => 1
    [1] => 2
    [2] => 3
)

Using array_splice() Function

The array_splice() function can also be used to remove elements from an array and return them. This method modifies the original array.

Example: This example shows the checking of if an array is a subset of another array using array_splice() Function.

<?php

$arr = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6];
$N = 3;

$firstNElements = array_splice($arr, 0, $N);
print_r($firstNElements);

?>

Array
(
    [0] => 1
    [1] => 2
    [2] => 3
)

Using array_filter() Function

The array_filter() function can be used with a callback to create a new array containing only the first N elements.

Example:

<?php

$arr = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6];
$N = 3;
$count = 0;

$firstNElements = array_filter($arr, function() use (&$count, $N) {
    return $count++ < $N;
});

print_r($firstNElements);

?>

Array
(
    [0] => 1
    [1] => 2
    [2] => 3
)

Each of these methods provides a way to extract the first N elements from an array, allowing you to choose the one that best fits your needs and coding style.