This document is for CakePHP's development version, which can be significantly different
from previous releases.
You may want to read
current stable release documentation instead.
Array management, if done right, can be a very powerful and useful tool for building smarter, more optimized code. CakePHP offers a very useful set of static utilities in the Hash class that allow you to do just that.
CakePHP’s Hash class can be called from any model or controller in
the same way Inflector is called. Example: Hash::combine()
.
The path syntax described below is used by all the methods in Hash
. Not all
parts of the path syntax are available in all methods. A path expression is
made of any number of tokens. Tokens are composed of two groups. Expressions,
are used to traverse the array data, while matchers are used to qualify
elements. You apply matchers to expression elements.
Expression |
Definition |
---|---|
|
Represents a numeric key. Will match any string or numeric key. |
|
Represents a string. Will match any string value including numeric string values. |
|
Matches any value. |
|
Matches keys with the exact same value. |
All expression elements are supported by all methods. In addition to expression
elements, you can use attribute matching with certain methods. They are extract()
,
combine()
, format()
, check()
, map()
, reduce()
,
apply()
, sort()
, insert()
, remove()
and nest()
.
Matcher |
Definition |
---|---|
|
Match elements with a given array key. |
|
Match elements with id equal to 2. |
|
Match elements with id not equal to 2. |
|
Match elements with id greater than 2. |
|
Match elements with id greater than or equal to 2. |
|
Match elements with id less than 2 |
|
Match elements with id less than or equal to 2. |
|
Match elements that have values matching
the regular expression inside |
get()
is a simplified version of extract()
, it only supports direct
path expressions. Paths with {n}
, {s}
, {*}
or matchers are not
supported. Use get()
when you want exactly one value out of an array. If
a matching path is not found the default value will be returned.
Hash::extract()
supports all expression, and matcher components of
Hash Path Syntax. You can use extract to retrieve data from arrays
or object implementing ArrayAccess
interface, along arbitrary paths
quickly without having to loop through the data structures. Instead you
use path expressions to qualify which elements you want returned
// Common Usage:
$users = [
['id' => 1, 'name' => 'mark'],
['id' => 2, 'name' => 'jane'],
['id' => 3, 'name' => 'sally'],
['id' => 4, 'name' => 'jose'],
];
$results = Hash::extract($users, '{n}.id');
// $results equals:
// [1,2,3,4];
Inserts $values
into an array as defined by $path
:
$a = [
'pages' => ['name' => 'page']
];
$result = Hash::insert($a, 'files', ['name' => 'files']);
// $result now looks like:
[
[pages] => [
[name] => page
]
[files] => [
[name] => files
]
]
You can use paths using {n}
, {s}
and {*}
to insert data into multiple
points:
$users = Hash::insert($users, '{n}.new', 'value');
Attribute matchers work with insert()
as well:
$data = [
0 => ['up' => true, 'Item' => ['id' => 1, 'title' => 'first']],
1 => ['Item' => ['id' => 2, 'title' => 'second']],
2 => ['Item' => ['id' => 3, 'title' => 'third']],
3 => ['up' => true, 'Item' => ['id' => 4, 'title' => 'fourth']],
4 => ['Item' => ['id' => 5, 'title' => 'fifth']],
];
$result = Hash::insert($data, '{n}[up].Item[id=4].new', 9);
/* $result now looks like:
[
['up' => true, 'Item' => ['id' => 1, 'title' => 'first']],
['Item' => ['id' => 2, 'title' => 'second']],
['Item' => ['id' => 3, 'title' => 'third']],
['up' => true, 'Item' => ['id' => 4, 'title' => 'fourth', 'new' => 9]],
['Item' => ['id' => 5, 'title' => 'fifth']],
]
*/
Removes all elements from an array that match $path
.
$a = [
'pages' => ['name' => 'page'],
'files' => ['name' => 'files']
];
$result = Hash::remove($a, 'files');
/* $result now looks like:
[
[pages] => [
[name] => page
]
]
*/
Using {n}
, {s}
and {*}
will allow you to remove multiple values at once.
You can also use attribute matchers with remove()
:
$data = [
0 => ['clear' => true, 'Item' => ['id' => 1, 'title' => 'first']],
1 => ['Item' => ['id' => 2, 'title' => 'second']],
2 => ['Item' => ['id' => 3, 'title' => 'third']],
3 => ['clear' => true, 'Item' => ['id' => 4, 'title' => 'fourth']],
4 => ['Item' => ['id' => 5, 'title' => 'fifth']],
];
$result = Hash::remove($data, '{n}[clear].Item[id=4]');
/* $result now looks like:
[
['clear' => true, 'Item' => ['id' => 1, 'title' => 'first']],
['Item' => ['id' => 2, 'title' => 'second']],
['Item' => ['id' => 3, 'title' => 'third']],
['clear' => true],
['Item' => ['id' => 5, 'title' => 'fifth']],
]
*/
Creates an associative array using a $keyPath
as the path to build its keys,
and optionally $valuePath
as path to get the values. If $valuePath
is not
specified, or doesn’t match anything, values will be initialized to null.
You can optionally group the values by what is obtained when following the
path specified in $groupPath
.
$a = [
[
'User' => [
'id' => 2,
'group_id' => 1,
'Data' => [
'user' => 'mariano.iglesias',
'name' => 'Mariano Iglesias'
]
]
],
[
'User' => [
'id' => 14,
'group_id' => 2,
'Data' => [
'user' => 'phpnut',
'name' => 'Larry E. Masters'
]
]
],
];
$result = Hash::combine($a, '{n}.User.id');
/* $result now looks like:
[
[2] =>
[14] =>
]
*/
$result = Hash::combine($a, '{n}.User.id', '{n}.User.Data.user');
/* $result now looks like:
[
[2] => 'mariano.iglesias'
[14] => 'phpnut'
]
*/
$result = Hash::combine($a, '{n}.User.id', '{n}.User.Data');
/* $result now looks like:
[
[2] => [
[user] => mariano.iglesias
[name] => Mariano Iglesias
]
[14] => [
[user] => phpnut
[name] => Larry E. Masters
]
]
*/
$result = Hash::combine($a, '{n}.User.id', '{n}.User.Data.name');
/* $result now looks like:
[
[2] => Mariano Iglesias
[14] => Larry E. Masters
]
*/
$result = Hash::combine($a, '{n}.User.id', '{n}.User.Data', '{n}.User.group_id');
/* $result now looks like:
[
[1] => [
[2] => [
[user] => mariano.iglesias
[name] => Mariano Iglesias
]
]
[2] => [
[14] => [
[user] => phpnut
[name] => Larry E. Masters
]
]
]
*/
$result = Hash::combine($a, '{n}.User.id', '{n}.User.Data.name', '{n}.User.group_id');
/* $result now looks like:
[
[1] => [
[2] => Mariano Iglesias
]
[2] => [
[14] => Larry E. Masters
]
]
*/
// As of 3.9.0 $keyPath can be null
$result = Hash::combine($a, null, '{n}.User.Data.name');
/* $result now looks like:
[
[0] => Mariano Iglesias
[1] => Larry E. Masters
]
*/
You can provide arrays for both $keyPath
and $valuePath
. If you do this,
the first value will be used as a format string, for values extracted by the
other paths:
$result = Hash::combine(
$a,
'{n}.User.id',
['%s: %s', '{n}.User.Data.user', '{n}.User.Data.name'],
'{n}.User.group_id'
);
/* $result now looks like:
[
[1] => [
[2] => mariano.iglesias: Mariano Iglesias
]
[2] => [
[14] => phpnut: Larry E. Masters
]
]
*/
$result = Hash::combine(
$a,
['%s: %s', '{n}.User.Data.user', '{n}.User.Data.name'],
'{n}.User.id'
);
/* $result now looks like:
[
[mariano.iglesias: Mariano Iglesias] => 2
[phpnut: Larry E. Masters] => 14
]
*/
Returns a series of values extracted from an array, formatted with a format string:
$data = [
[
'Person' => [
'first_name' => 'Nate',
'last_name' => 'Abele',
'city' => 'Boston',
'state' => 'MA',
'something' => '42'
]
],
[
'Person' => [
'first_name' => 'Larry',
'last_name' => 'Masters',
'city' => 'Boondock',
'state' => 'TN',
'something' => '{0}'
]
],
[
'Person' => [
'first_name' => 'Garrett',
'last_name' => 'Woodworth',
'city' => 'Venice Beach',
'state' => 'CA',
'something' => '{1}'
]
]
];
$res = Hash::format($data, ['{n}.Person.first_name', '{n}.Person.something'], '%2$d, %1$s');
/*
[
[0] => 42, Nate
[1] => 0, Larry
[2] => 0, Garrett
]
*/
$res = Hash::format($data, ['{n}.Person.first_name', '{n}.Person.something'], '%1$s, %2$d');
/*
[
[0] => Nate, 42
[1] => Larry, 0
[2] => Garrett, 0
]
*/
Determines if one Hash or array contains the exact keys and values of another:
$a = [
0 => ['name' => 'main'],
1 => ['name' => 'about']
];
$b = [
0 => ['name' => 'main'],
1 => ['name' => 'about'],
2 => ['name' => 'contact'],
'a' => 'b',
];
$result = Hash::contains($a, $a);
// true
$result = Hash::contains($a, $b);
// false
$result = Hash::contains($b, $a);
// true
Checks if a particular path is set in an array:
$set = [
'My Index 1' => ['First' => 'The first item']
];
$result = Hash::check($set, 'My Index 1.First');
// $result == true
$result = Hash::check($set, 'My Index 1');
// $result == true
$set = [
'My Index 1' => [
'First' => [
'Second' => [
'Third' => [
'Fourth' => 'Heavy. Nesting.'
]
]
]
]
];
$result = Hash::check($set, 'My Index 1.First.Second');
// $result == true
$result = Hash::check($set, 'My Index 1.First.Second.Third');
// $result == true
$result = Hash::check($set, 'My Index 1.First.Second.Third.Fourth');
// $result == true
$result = Hash::check($set, 'My Index 1.First.Seconds.Third.Fourth');
// $result == false
Filters empty elements out of array, excluding ‘0’. You can also supply a
custom $callback
to filter the array elements. The callback should
return false
to remove elements from the resulting array:
$data = [
'0',
false,
true,
0,
['one thing', 'I can tell you', 'is you got to be', false]
];
$res = Hash::filter($data);
/* $res now looks like:
[
[0] => 0
[2] => true
[3] => 0
[4] => [
[0] => one thing
[1] => I can tell you
[2] => is you got to be
]
]
*/
Collapses a multi-dimensional array into a single dimension:
$arr = [
[
'Post' => ['id' => '1', 'title' => 'First Post'],
'Author' => ['id' => '1', 'user' => 'Kyle'],
],
[
'Post' => ['id' => '2', 'title' => 'Second Post'],
'Author' => ['id' => '3', 'user' => 'Crystal'],
],
];
$res = Hash::flatten($arr);
/* $res now looks like:
[
[0.Post.id] => 1
[0.Post.title] => First Post
[0.Author.id] => 1
[0.Author.user] => Kyle
[1.Post.id] => 2
[1.Post.title] => Second Post
[1.Author.id] => 3
[1.Author.user] => Crystal
]
*/
Expands an array that was previously flattened with
Hash::flatten()
:
$data = [
'0.Post.id' => 1,
'0.Post.title' => First Post,
'0.Author.id' => 1,
'0.Author.user' => Kyle,
'1.Post.id' => 2,
'1.Post.title' => Second Post,
'1.Author.id' => 3,
'1.Author.user' => Crystal,
];
$res = Hash::expand($data);
/* $res now looks like:
[
[
'Post' => ['id' => '1', 'title' => 'First Post'],
'Author' => ['id' => '1', 'user' => 'Kyle'],
],
[
'Post' => ['id' => '2', 'title' => 'Second Post'],
'Author' => ['id' => '3', 'user' => 'Crystal'],
],
];
*/
This function can be thought of as a hybrid between PHP’s
array_merge
and array_merge_recursive
. The difference to the two
is that if an array key contains another array then the function
behaves recursive (unlike array_merge
) but does not do if for keys
containing strings (unlike array_merge_recursive
).
Note
This function will work with an unlimited amount of arguments and typecasts non-array parameters into arrays.
$array = [
[
'id' => '48c2570e-dfa8-4c32-a35e-0d71cbdd56cb',
'name' => 'mysql raleigh-workshop-08 < 2008-09-05.sql ',
'description' => 'Importing an sql dump',
],
[
'id' => '48c257a8-cf7c-4af2-ac2f-114ecbdd56cb',
'name' => 'pbpaste | grep -i Unpaid | pbcopy',
'description' => 'Remove all lines that say "Unpaid".',
]
];
$arrayB = 4;
$arrayC = [0 => "test array", "cats" => "dogs", "people" => 1267];
$arrayD = ["cats" => "felines", "dog" => "angry"];
$res = Hash::merge($array, $arrayB, $arrayC, $arrayD);
/* $res now looks like:
[
[0] => [
[id] => 48c2570e-dfa8-4c32-a35e-0d71cbdd56cb
[name] => mysql raleigh-workshop-08 < 2008-09-05.sql
[description] => Importing an sql dump
]
[1] => [
[id] => 48c257a8-cf7c-4af2-ac2f-114ecbdd56cb
[name] => pbpaste | grep -i Unpaid | pbcopy
[description] => Remove all lines that say "Unpaid".
]
[2] => 4
[3] => test array
[cats] => felines
[people] => 1267
[dog] => angry
]
*/
Checks to see if all the values in the array are numeric:
$data = ['one'];
$res = Hash::numeric(array_keys($data));
// $res is true
$data = [1 => 'one'];
$res = Hash::numeric($data);
// $res is false
Counts the dimensions of an array. This method will only consider the dimension of the first element in the array:
$data = ['one', '2', 'three'];
$result = Hash::dimensions($data);
// $result == 1
$data = ['1' => '1.1', '2', '3'];
$result = Hash::dimensions($data);
// $result == 1
$data = ['1' => ['1.1' => '1.1.1'], '2', '3' => ['3.1' => '3.1.1']];
$result = Hash::dimensions($data);
// $result == 2
$data = ['1' => '1.1', '2', '3' => ['3.1' => '3.1.1']];
$result = Hash::dimensions($data);
// $result == 1
$data = ['1' => ['1.1' => '1.1.1'], '2', '3' => ['3.1' => ['3.1.1' => '3.1.1.1']]];
$result = Hash::dimensions($data);
// $result == 2
Similar to dimensions()
, however this method returns,
the deepest number of dimensions of any element in the array:
$data = ['1' => '1.1', '2', '3' => ['3.1' => '3.1.1']];
$result = Hash::maxDimensions($data);
// $result == 2
$data = ['1' => ['1.1' => '1.1.1'], '2', '3' => ['3.1' => ['3.1.1' => '3.1.1.1']]];
$result = Hash::maxDimensions($data);
// $result == 3
Creates a new array, by extracting $path
, and mapping $function
across the results. You can use both expression and matching elements with
this method:
// Call the noop function $this->noop() on every element of $data
$result = Hash::map($data, "{n}", [$this, 'noop']);
public function noop(array $array)
{
// Do stuff to array and return the result
return $array;
}
Creates a single value, by extracting $path
, and reducing the extracted
results with $function
. You can use both expression and matching elements
with this method.
Apply a callback to a set of extracted values using $function
. The function
will get the extracted values as the first argument:
$data = [
['date' => '01-01-2016', 'booked' => true],
['date' => '01-01-2016', 'booked' => false],
['date' => '02-01-2016', 'booked' => true]
];
$result = Hash::apply($data, '{n}[booked=true].date', 'array_count_values');
/* $result now looks like:
[
'01-01-2016' => 1,
'02-01-2016' => 1,
]
*/
Sorts an array by any value, determined by a Hash Path Syntax Only expression elements are supported by this method:
$a = [
0 => ['Person' => ['name' => 'Jeff']],
1 => ['Shirt' => ['color' => 'black']]
];
$result = Hash::sort($a, '{n}.Person.name', 'asc');
/* $result now looks like:
[
[0] => [
[Shirt] => [
[color] => black
]
]
[1] => [
[Person] => [
[name] => Jeff
]
]
]
*/
$dir
can be either asc
or desc
. $type
can be one of the following values:
regular
for regular sorting.
numeric
for sorting values as their numeric equivalents.
string
for sorting values as their string value.
natural
for sorting values in a human friendly way. Will
sort foo10
below foo2
as an example.
Computes the difference between two arrays:
$a = [
0 => ['name' => 'main'],
1 => ['name' => 'about']
];
$b = [
0 => ['name' => 'main'],
1 => ['name' => 'about'],
2 => ['name' => 'contact']
];
$result = Hash::diff($a, $b);
/* $result now looks like:
[
[2] => [
[name] => contact
]
]
*/
This function merges two arrays and pushes the differences in data to the bottom of the resultant array.
Example 1
$array1 = ['ModelOne' => ['id' => 1001, 'field_one' => 'a1.m1.f1', 'field_two' => 'a1.m1.f2']];
$array2 = ['ModelOne' => ['id' => 1003, 'field_one' => 'a3.m1.f1', 'field_two' => 'a3.m1.f2', 'field_three' => 'a3.m1.f3']];
$res = Hash::mergeDiff($array1, $array2);
/* $res now looks like:
[
[ModelOne] => [
[id] => 1001
[field_one] => a1.m1.f1
[field_two] => a1.m1.f2
[field_three] => a3.m1.f3
]
]
*/
Example 2
$array1 = ["a" => "b", 1 => 20938, "c" => "string"];
$array2 = ["b" => "b", 3 => 238, "c" => "string", ["extra_field"]];
$res = Hash::mergeDiff($array1, $array2);
/* $res now looks like:
[
[a] => b
[1] => 20938
[c] => string
[b] => b
[3] => 238
[4] => [
[0] => extra_field
]
]
*/
Normalizes an array. If $assoc
is true
, the resulting array will be
normalized to be an associative array. Numeric keys with values, will be
converted to string keys with $default
values. Normalizing an array,
makes using the results with Hash::merge()
easier:
$a = ['Tree', 'CounterCache',
'Upload' => [
'folder' => 'products',
'fields' => ['image_1_id', 'image_2_id']
]
];
$result = Hash::normalize($a);
/* $result now looks like:
[
[Tree] => null
[CounterCache] => null
[Upload] => [
[folder] => products
[fields] => [
[0] => image_1_id
[1] => image_2_id
]
]
]
*/
$b = [
'Cacheable' => ['enabled' => false],
'Limit',
'Bindable',
'Validator',
'Transactional',
];
$result = Hash::normalize($b);
/* $result now looks like:
[
[Cacheable] => [
[enabled] => false
]
[Limit] => null
[Bindable] => null
[Validator] => null
[Transactional] => null
]
*/
Changed in version 4.5.0: The $default
parameter was added.
Takes a flat array set, and creates a nested, or threaded data structure.
Options:
children
The key name to use in the result set for children. Defaults
to ‘children’.
idPath
The path to a key that identifies each entry. Should be
compatible with Hash::extract()
. Defaults to {n}.$alias.id
parentPath
The path to a key that identifies the parent of each entry.
Should be compatible with Hash::extract()
. Defaults to {n}.$alias.parent_id
root
The id of the desired top-most result.
For example, if you had the following array of data:
$data = [
['ThreadPost' => ['id' => 1, 'parent_id' => null]],
['ThreadPost' => ['id' => 2, 'parent_id' => 1]],
['ThreadPost' => ['id' => 3, 'parent_id' => 1]],
['ThreadPost' => ['id' => 4, 'parent_id' => 1]],
['ThreadPost' => ['id' => 5, 'parent_id' => 1]],
['ThreadPost' => ['id' => 6, 'parent_id' => null]],
['ThreadPost' => ['id' => 7, 'parent_id' => 6]],
['ThreadPost' => ['id' => 8, 'parent_id' => 6]],
['ThreadPost' => ['id' => 9, 'parent_id' => 6]],
['ThreadPost' => ['id' => 10, 'parent_id' => 6]]
];
$result = Hash::nest($data, ['root' => 6]);
/* $result now looks like:
[
(int) 0 => [
'ThreadPost' => [
'id' => (int) 6,
'parent_id' => null
],
'children' => [
(int) 0 => [
'ThreadPost' => [
'id' => (int) 7,
'parent_id' => (int) 6
],
'children' => []
],
(int) 1 => [
'ThreadPost' => [
'id' => (int) 8,
'parent_id' => (int) 6
],
'children' => []
],
(int) 2 => [
'ThreadPost' => [
'id' => (int) 9,
'parent_id' => (int) 6
],
'children' => []
],
(int) 3 => [
'ThreadPost' => [
'id' => (int) 10,
'parent_id' => (int) 6
],
'children' => []
]
]
]
]
*/