Php – Difference between array_map, array_walk and array_filter

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What exactly is the difference between array_map, array_walk and array_filter. What I could see from documentation is that you could pass a callback function to perform an action on the supplied array. But I don't seem to find any particular difference between them.

Do they perform the same thing?
Can they be used interchangeably?

I would appreciate your help with illustrative example if they are different at all.

Best Answer

Changing Values:
- array_map cannot change the values inside input array(s) while array_walk can; in particular, array_map never changes its arguments.
Array Keys Access:
- array_map cannot operate with the array keys, array_walk can.
Return Value:
- array_map returns a new array, array_walk only returns true. Hence, if you don't want to create an array as a result of traversing one array, you should use array_walk.
Iterating Multiple Arrays:
- array_map also can receive an arbitrary number of arrays and it can iterate over them in parallel, while array_walk operates only on one.
Passing Arbitrary Data to Callback:
- array_walk can receive an extra arbitrary parameter to pass to the callback. This mostly irrelevant since PHP 5.3 (when anonymous functions were introduced).
Length of Returned Array:
- The resulting array of array_map has the same length as that of the largest input array; array_walk does not return an array but at the same time it cannot alter the number of elements of original array; array_filter picks only a subset of the elements of the array according to a filtering function. It does preserve the keys.

Example:

<pre>
<?php

$origarray1 = array(2.4, 2.6, 3.5);
$origarray2 = array(2.4, 2.6, 3.5);

print_r(array_map('floor', $origarray1)); // $origarray1 stays the same

// changes $origarray2
array_walk($origarray2, function (&$v, $k) { $v = floor($v); }); 
print_r($origarray2);

// this is a more proper use of array_walk
array_walk($origarray1, function ($v, $k) { echo "$k => $v", "\n"; });

// array_map accepts several arrays
print_r(
    array_map(function ($a, $b) { return $a * $b; }, $origarray1, $origarray2)
);

// select only elements that are > 2.5
print_r(
    array_filter($origarray1, function ($a) { return $a > 2.5; })
);

?>
</pre>

Result:

Array
(
    [0] => 2
    [1] => 2
    [2] => 3
)
Array
(
    [0] => 2
    [1] => 2
    [2] => 3
)
0 => 2.4
1 => 2.6
2 => 3.5
Array
(
    [0] => 4.8
    [1] => 5.2
    [2] => 10.5
)
Array
(
    [1] => 2.6
    [2] => 3.5
)

Related Solutions

Javascript – What’s the difference between “Array()” and “[]” while declaring a JavaScript array

There is a difference, but there is no difference in that example.

Using the more verbose method: new Array() does have one extra option in the parameters: if you pass a number to the constructor, you will get an array of that length:

x = new Array(5);
alert(x.length); // 5

To illustrate the different ways to create an array:

var a = [],            // these are the same
    b = new Array(),   // a and b are arrays with length 0

    c = ['foo', 'bar'],           // these are the same
    d = new Array('foo', 'bar'),  // c and d are arrays with 2 strings

    // these are different:
    e = [3]             // e.length == 1, e[0] == 3
    f = new Array(3),   // f.length == 3, f[0] == undefined

;

Another difference is that when using new Array() you're able to set the size of the array, which affects the stack size. This can be useful if you're getting stack overflows (Performance of Array.push vs Array.unshift) which is what happens when the size of the array exceeds the size of the stack, and it has to be re-created. So there can actually, depending on the use case, be a performance increase when using new Array() because you can prevent the overflow from happening.

As pointed out in this answer, new Array(5) will not actually add five undefined items to the array. It simply adds space for five items. Be aware that using Array this way makes it difficult to rely on array.length for calculations.

Javascript – How to get the difference between two arrays in JavaScript

There is a better way using ES7:

Intersection

 let intersection = arr1.filter(x => arr2.includes(x));

For [1,2,3] [2,3] it will yield [2,3]. On the other hand, for [1,2,3] [2,3,5] will return the same thing.

Difference

let difference = arr1.filter(x => !arr2.includes(x));

For [1,2,3] [2,3] it will yield [1]. On the other hand, for [1,2,3] [2,3,5] will return the same thing.

For a symmetric difference, you can do:

let difference = arr1
                 .filter(x => !arr2.includes(x))
                 .concat(arr2.filter(x => !arr1.includes(x)));

This way, you will get an array containing all the elements of arr1 that are not in arr2 and vice-versa

As @Joshaven Potter pointed out on his answer, you can add this to Array.prototype so it can be used like this:

Array.prototype.diff = function(arr2) { return this.filter(x => !arr2.includes(x)); }
[1, 2, 3].diff([2, 3])

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Javascript – What’s the difference between “Array()” and “[]” while declaring a JavaScript array

Javascript – How to get the difference between two arrays in JavaScript

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