count
Description
int count ( mixed var [, int mode])Returns the number of elements in var , which is typically an array (since anything else will have one element).
If var is not an array, 1 will be returned (exception: count( NULL ) equals 0).
Note: The optional mode parameter is available as of PHP 4.2.0.
If the optional mode parameter is set to COUNT_RECURSIVE (or 1), count() will recursively count the array. This is particularly useful for counting all the elements of a multidimensional array. The default value for mode is 0.
Caution
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.
Please see the Arrays section of the manual for a detailed explanation of how arrays are implemented and used in PHP.
Example 1. count() example
<?php
$a[0] = 1;
$a[1] = 3;
$a[2] = 5;
$result = count($a);
// $result == 3
$b[0] = 7;
$b[5] = 9;
$b[10] = 11;
$result = count($b);
// $result == 3;
?>
Example 2. recursive count() example (PHP >= 4.2.0)
<?php
$food = array('fruits' => array('orange', 'banana', 'apple'),
'veggie' => array('carrot', 'collard', 'pea'));
// recursive count
echo count($food, COUNT_RECURSIVE); // output 8
// normal count
echo count($food); // output 2
?>
See also is_array(), isset(), and strlen().
