PHP 7.0.6 Released

range

(PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7)

rangeCreate an array containing a range of elements

Description

array range ( mixed $start , mixed $end [, number $step = 1 ] )

Create an array containing a range of elements.

Parameters

start

First value of the sequence.

end

The sequence is ended upon reaching the end value.

step

If a step value is given, it will be used as the increment between elements in the sequence. step should be given as a positive number. If not specified, step will default to 1.

Return Values

Returns an array of elements from start to end, inclusive.

Examples

Example #1 range() examples

<?php
// array(0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
foreach (range(012) as $number) {
    echo 
$number;
}

// The step parameter
// array(0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100)
foreach (range(010010) as $number) {
    echo 
$number;
}

// Usage of character sequences
// array('a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f', 'g', 'h', 'i');
foreach (range('a''i') as $letter) {
    echo 
$letter;
}
// array('c', 'b', 'a');
foreach (range('c''a') as $letter) {
    echo 
$letter;
}
?>

Notes

Note:

Character sequence values are limited to a length of one. If a length greater than one is entered, only the first character is used.

See Also

User Contributed Notes

Palz
3 years ago
To create a range array like

Array
(
    [11] => 1
    [12] => 2
    [13] => 3
    [14] => 4
)

combine two range arrays using array_combine:

array_combine(range(11,14),range(1,4))
ThinkMedical at Gmail dot com
7 years ago
foreach(range()) whilst efficiant in other languages, such as python, it is not (compared to a for) in php*.

php is a C-inspired language and thus for is entirely in-keeping with the lanuage aethetic to use it

<?php
//efficiant
for($i = $start; $i < $end; $i+=$step)
{
       
//do something with array
}

//inefficiant
foreach(range($start, $end, $step) as $i)
{
       
//do something with array
}
?>

That the officiant documentation doesnt mention the for loop is strange.

Note however, that in PHP5 foreach is faster than for when iterating without incrementing a variable.

* My tests using microtime and 100 000 iterations consistently (~10 times) show that for is 4x faster than foreach(range()).
me at phpscott dot com
3 years ago
So, I needed a quick and dirty way to create a dropdown select for hours, minutes and seconds using 2 digit formatting, and to create those arrays of data, I combined range with array merge..

<?php
$prepend
= array('00','01','02','03','04','05','06','07','08','09');
$hours     = array_merge($prepend,range(10, 23));
$minutes     = array_merge($prepend,range(10, 59));
$seconds     = $minutes;
?>

Super simple.
captvanhalen at gmail dot com
8 years ago
Here is a home rolled range() function that uses the step feature for those unfortunate souls who cannot use PHP5:

<?php
function my_range( $start, $end, $step = 1) {

   
$range = array();

    foreach (
range( $start, $end ) as $index) {

        if (! ((
$index - $start) % $step) ) {
           
$range[] = $index;
        }
    }

    return
$range;
}
?>
ktamas77 at gmail dot com
3 years ago
if you need zero padding, string prefixes or any other masks, then a simple combination of array_map, inline functions and sprintf is your friend.

<?php

$a
= array_map(function($n) { return sprintf('sample_%03d', $n); }, range(50, 59) );

print_r($a);

?>

Will result:

Array
(
    [0] => sample_050
    [1] => sample_051
    [2] => sample_052
    [3] => sample_053
    [4] => sample_054
    [5] => sample_055
    [6] => sample_056
    [7] => sample_057
    [8] => sample_058
    [9] => sample_059
)
dries at volta dot be
4 years ago
Ever wanted to generate an array with a range of column names for use in Excel file related parsing?
I've wrote a function that starts at the A column and adds column names up until the column you specified.

<?php

/**
* This function creates an array with column names up until the column
* you specified.
*/
function createColumnsArray($end_column, $first_letters = '')
{
 
$columns = array();
 
$length = strlen($end_column);
 
$letters = range('A', 'Z');

 
// Iterate over 26 letters.
 
foreach ($letters as $letter) {
     
// Paste the $first_letters before the next.
     
$column = $first_letters . $letter;

     
// Add the column to the final array.
     
$columns[] = $column;

     
// If it was the end column that was added, return the columns.
     
if ($column == $end_column)
          return
$columns;
  }

 
// Add the column children.
 
foreach ($columns as $column) {
     
// Don't itterate if the $end_column was already set in a previous itteration.
      // Stop iterating if you've reached the maximum character length.
     
if (!in_array($end_column, $columns) && strlen($column) < $length) {
         
$new_columns = createColumnsArray($end_column, $column);
         
// Merge the new columns which were created with the final columns array.
         
$columns = array_merge($columns, $new_columns);
      }
  }

  return
$columns;
}

?>

Usage:

<?php

// Return an array with all column names from A until and with BI.
createColumnsArray('BI');

?>
gtisza at gmail dot com
3 years ago
You might expect range($n, $n-1) to be an empty array (as in e.g. Python) but actually PHP will assume a step of -1 if start is larger than end.
manuel at levante dot de
9 years ago
<?php
function srange ($s) {
 
preg_match_all("/([0-9]{1,2})-?([0-9]{0,2}) ?,?;?/", $s, $a);
 
$n = array ();
  foreach (
$a[1] as $k => $v) {
   
$n  = array_merge ($n, range ($v, (empty($a[2][$k])?$v:$a[2][$k])));
  }
  return (
$n);
}

$s = '1-4 6-7 9-10';
print_r(srange($s));
?>

Return:
Array
(
    [0] => 1
    [1] => 2
    [2] => 3
    [3] => 4
    [4] => 6
    [5] => 7
    [6] => 9
    [7] => 10
)
chris at laflash dot org
8 years ago
Quick HTML menus with minimum and maximum sets of years:

<?php
   
/*
    ** Quick HTML menus with minimum and maximum sets of years.
    ** @author Chris Charlton <chris@laflash.org>
    ** @license FREE!
    */

    // Years range setup
   
$year_built_min = 1900;
   
$year_built_max = date("Y");
?>
<select id="yearBuiltMin" size="1">
    <?php // Generate minimum years

       
foreach (range($year_built_min, $year_built_max) as $year) { ?>
        <option value="<?php echo($year); ?>"><?php echo($year); ?></option>
        <?php } ?>
</select>

<select id="yearBuiltMax" size="1">
      <?php // Generate max years

       
foreach (range($year_built_max, $year_built_min) as $year) { ?>
        <option value="<?php echo($year); ?>"><?php echo($year); ?></option>
        <?php } ?>
</select>
lsblsb at gmx dot de
2 years ago
I needed a function, that creates a letter range with arbitrary length.
You specify via the $length parameter, how many entries you need.
Logic is analog to the logic of the column-titles in a calc-sheet.

<?php

/**
  * create a letter range with arbitrary length
  * @param int $length
  * @return array
  */
function createLetterRange($length)
{
   
$range = array();
   
$letters = range('A', 'Z');
    for(
$i=0; $i<$length; $i++)
    {
       
$position = $i*26;
        foreach(
$letters as $ii => $letter)
        {
           
$position++;
            if(
$position <= $length)
               
$range[] = ($position > 26 ? $range[$i-1] : '').$letter;
        }
    }
    return
$range;
}
?>
m0sh3 at hotmail dot com
9 years ago
Here's how i use it to check if array is associative or not:

<?php

if (array_keys($arr)===range(0, sizeof($arr)-1)) {
// not associative array

} else {
// associative array

}

?>
qz
3 months ago
If you're looking to fill an array to get a hash with 0-9 numerical values, using
range(0,9);
is a faster solution compared to
array_fill(0, 10, '');
moficer at host dot sk
3 months ago
php 5.6.16

<?php
var_export
(range('Z', 'a'));

/*
array (
  0 => 'Z',
  1 => '[',
  2 => '\\',
  3 => ']',
  4 => '^',
  5 => '_',
  6 => '`',
  7 => 'a',
)
*/
Alien426
6 months ago
The function will generate an array of integers even if your numerical parameters are enclosed in quotes.
<?php
var_dump
( range('1', '2') ); // outputs  array(2) { [0]=> int(1) [1]=> int(2) }
?>

An easy way to get an array of strings is to map strval() to the range:
<?php
var_dump
( array_map('strval', range('1', '2')) ); // outputs  array(2) { [0]=> string(1) "1" [1]=> string(1) "2" }
?>
php at keith tyler dot com
2 years ago
So with the introduction of single-character ranges to the range() function, the internal function tries to be "smart", and (I am inferring from behavior here) apparently checks the type of the incoming values. If one is numeric, including numeric string, then the other is treated as numeric; if it is a non-numeric string, it is treated as zero.

But.

If you pass in a numeric string in such a way that is is forced to be recognized as type string and not type numeric, range() will function quite differently.

Compare:

<?php
echo implode("",range(9,"Q"));
// prints 9876543210

echo implode("",range("9 ","Q"));  //space after the 9
// prints 9:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQ

echo implode("",range("q","9 "));
// prints qponmlkjihgfedcba`_^]\[ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA@?>=<;:987654
?>

I wouldn't call this a bug, because IMO it is even more useful than the stock usage of the function.
pyetrosafe at gmail dot com
2 years ago
To create a simple array or a multidimensional array with defined size and null values​​, use this expression:

<?php

$SimpleArray
= array_map(function($n) { return null; }, range(1, 3) );
$MultiArray = array_map(function($n) { return array_map(function($n) { return null; }, range(1, 2) ); }, range(1, 3) );

var_dump($SimpleArray);
var_dump($MultiArray);

// And will print:
?>
>>$SimpleArray
array(3) {
  [0]=>  NULL
  [1]=>  NULL
  [2]=>  NULL
}

>>$MultiArray
array(3) {
  [0]=>  array(2) {
    [0]=>    NULL
    [1]=>    NULL
  }
  [1]=>  array(2) {
    [0]=>    NULL
    [1]=>    NULL
  }
  [2]=>  array(2) {
    [0]=>    NULL
    [1]=>    NULL
  }
}

?>
jay at NOspam dot myd3 dot com
7 years ago
This is a modified version of thomas' range_string() function. It's simpler, cleaner, and more robust, but it lacks the advanced features his function had, hopefully it will be of assitance to someone.

Examples:

    input: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6" --> output: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
    input: "1-6" --> output: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
    input: "1-6" --> output: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
    input: "1 - -6" --> output: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
    input: "0 - 0" --> output: 0
    input: "1, 4-6, 2" --> output: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
    input: "6,3-1" --> output: 1, 2, 3, 6

<?php

define
('RANGE_ARRAY_SORT', 1);
define('RANGE_ARRAY', 2);
define('RANGE_STRING_SORT', 3);
define('RANGE_STRING', 4);

function
range_string($range_str, $output_type = RANGE_ARRAY_SORT)
{
   
// Remove spaces and nother non-essential characters
   
$find[]    = "/[^\d,\-]/";
   
$replace[] = "";
   
   
// Remove duplicate hyphens
   
$find[]    = "/\-+/";
   
$replace[] = "-";
   
   
// Remove duplicate commas
   
$find[]    = "/\,+/";
   
$replace[] = ",";
   
   
$range_str = preg_replace($find, $replace, $range_str);

   
// Remove any commas or hypens from the end of the string
   
$range_str = trim($range_str,",-");
   
   
$range_out = array();
   
$ranges    = explode(",", $range_str);
   
    foreach(
$ranges as $range)
    {
       
        if(
is_numeric($range) || strlen($range) == 1)
        {
           
// Just a number; add it to the list.
           
$range_out[] = (int) $range;
        }
        else if(
is_string($range))
        {
           
           
// Is probably a range of values.
          
$range_exp = preg_split("/(\D)/",$range,-1,PREG_SPLIT_DELIM_CAPTURE);
       
           
$start = $range_exp[0];
           
$end   = $range_exp[2];
       
            if(
$start > $end)
            {
                for(
$i = $start; $i >= $end; $i -= 1)
                {
                   
$range_out[] = (int) $i;
                }
            }
            else
            {
                for(
$i = $start; $i <= $end; $i += 1)
                {
                   
$range_out[] = (int) $i;
                }
            }
           
        }
    }
   
    switch (
$output_type) {
        case
RANGE_ARRAY_SORT:
           
$range_out = array_unique($range_out);
           
sort($range_out);
           
        case
RANGE_ARRAY:
            return
$range_out;
            break;
           
        case
RANGE_STRING_SORT:
           
$range_out = array_unique($range_out);
           
sort($range_out);
           
        case
RANGE_STRING:
       
        default:
            return
implode(", ", $range_out);
            break;
    }
}

// Sample Usage:
$range = range_string("6, 3-1");

?>
subscription101 at hotmail dot com
10 years ago
A much simpler way of creating a range of even numbers is by starting with an even number:

<?php

    range
(2, 10, 2);

?>
derek at php dot net
10 years ago
This should emulate range() a little better.
<?php
function range_wroar($low, $high, $step = 1) {
   
$arr = array();
   
$step = (abs($step)>0)?abs($step):1;
   
$sign = ($low<=$high)?1:-1;
    if(
is_numeric($low) && is_numeric($high)) {
       
//numeric sequence
       
for ($i = (float)$low; $i*$sign <= $high*$sign; $i += $step*$sign)
           
$arr[] = $i;
    }    else    {
       
//character sequence
       
if (is_numeric($low))
            return
$this->range($low, 0, $step);
        if (
is_numeric($high))
            return
$this->range(0, $high, $step);
       
$low = ord($low);
       
$high = ord($high);
        for (
$i = $low; $i*$sign <= $high*$sign; $i += $step*$sign) {
               
           
$arr[] = chr($i);
        }
    }
    return
$arr;
}
?>
Ray.Paseur often uses Gmail
2 years ago
Interestingly, these two statements produce identical 26-character alphabet arrays.

<?php
$arr
= range('A''Z');
$arr = range('AA', 'ZZ');
j dot gizmo at aon dot at
11 years ago
i figured i'd add some more functionality to the myRange() functions below.
now you can, besides giving a $step parameter,
1. count backwards
2. count with letters
3. give whatever parameter you want, there's nothing (i know of) that will cause an endless loop (try a negative $step for the previous function....)

<?php
function myRange($num1, $num2, $step=1)
{
    if (
is_numeric($num1) && is_numeric($num2))
    {
       
//we have a numeric range
       
$step = ( abs($step)>0 ? abs($step) : 1 ); //make $step positive
       
$dir = ($num1<=$num2 ? 1 : -1); //get the direction
       
for($i = (float)$num1; $i*$dir <= $num2*$dir; $i += $step*$dir)
        {
           
$temp[] = $i;
        }
    }
    else
    {
       
//we have a character range
       
$num1=ord((string)$num1); //convert to ascii value
       
$num2=ord((string)$num2);
       
$step = ( abs($step)>0 ? abs($step) : 1 ); //make $step positive
       
$dir = ($num1<=$num2 ? 1 : -1); //get direction
       
for($i = $num1; $i*$dir <= $num2*$dir; $i += $step*$dir)
        {
           
$temp[] = chr($i);
        }
    }
    return
$temp;
}

print_r(myRange( 1, 3, 0.5 )); //you can use fractional steps
print_r(myRange( "a", "k", 3 )); //or count letters
print_r(myRange( "5", "9" )); //numbers are detected even if hidden in strtings
print_r(myRange( "!", "%", 1/pi() )); //or mess around with senseless parameters

?>
krdr dot mft at gmail dot com
2 years ago
I've been introduced with range() function not so long ago, and I found that examples about it is somewhat wrong, even inefficient:

<?php
$o
= "";
$time_start = microtime(true);
foreach(
range(1, 10000) as $val) {
   
$o .= $val;
}
$time_end = microtime(true);
$time = $time_end - $time_start;
echo
'rangein: '.$time.'<br />';

$o = "";
$time_start = microtime(true);
$a = range(1, 10000);
foreach(
$a as $val) {
   
$o .= $val
}
$time_end = microtime(true);
$time = $time_end - $time_start;
echo
'rangeout: '.$time.'<br />';

?>

Which gives results:

rangein: 0.0025348663330078
rangeout: 0.0019199848175049

In some cases difference is even bigger and proportional to the range generated. I suppose that results of range() are cached/hashed.

Note: execution order does affects execution times, but difference still exists
emory underscore smith at hotmail
10 years ago
since its not stated explicitly above, thought id point out that you arent limited to using integers.

however, be careful when doing so, as you might not get the range you expect!

to illustrate:

<?php
$am
= range(500,1600,10);
$fm = range(88.1,107.9,.2);
print_r($am);
print_r($fm);
?>

print_r($am) yields the expected result:
            
Array
(
    [0] => 500
    [1] => 510
    [2] => 520
    ...
    [109] => 1590
    [110] => 1600
)

print_r($fm), however, falls a bit (1%) short:

Array
(
    [0] => 88.1
    [1] => 88.3
    [2] => 88.5
    ...
    [97] => 107.5
    [98] => 107.7
)
   
so, if you want to use a non-integral step size params for numeric ranges, be sure to account for fp representation accuracy and error accumulation; a step size of something like pi or 1/10 could spell disaster for a large range. if in doubt, use integral steps and divide ... something like <?php range(88.1,108,.2) ?> might work to recover 107.9, but would not be scalable like, say <?php array_map(create_function('$x','return $x/10;'),range(881,1079,2)) ?>.

-emory
jazzduck AT gmail DOT com
2 years ago
Despite the line above that says that the $step value should be "given as a positive number," the range() function will in fact correctly handle reversed (decrementing) ranges. For example:

<?php print_r( range( 24, 20 ) ); ?>
Array
(
    [0] => 24
    [1] => 23
    [2] => 22
    [3] => 21
    [4] => 20
)

<?php print_r( range( 20, 11, -3 ) ); ?>
Array
(
    [0] => 20
    [1] => 17
    [2] => 14
    [3] => 11
)

It will actually ignore the sign of the $step argument, and determine whether to increment or decrement based purely on whether $start > $end or $end > $start. For example:

<?php print_r( range( 20, 11, 3 ) ); ?>
Array
(
    [0] => 20
    [1] => 17
    [2] => 14
    [3] => 11
)

<?php print_r( range( 11, 20, -3 ) ); ?>
Array
(
    [0] => 11
    [1] => 14
    [2] => 17
    [3] => 20
)
unicod3 at hotmail dot com
1 year ago
a function to get column index by letter 

function getColumnNumber($char){
    $alphabet = range('a','z');
    $alphabet2 = range('a','z');
    $newAlphabet = $alphabet;
    foreach($alphabet as $k => $r)
    {
        foreach($alphabet2 as $row){
            $newAlphabet[] = $r.$row;
        }
    }
    $key = array_search($char, $newAlphabet);
    return ($key !== false) ? $key : null;
}
Aram Kocharyan
5 years ago
Here's a function to generate ranges from strings:

<?php

/*  Creates an array of integers based on a given range string of format "int - int"
    Eg. range_str('2 - 5'); */
function range_str($str) {
   
preg_match('#(\\d+)\\s*-\\s*(\\d+)#', $str, $matches);
    if (
count($matches) == 3 ) {
        return
range($matches[1], $matches[2]);
    }
    return
FALSE;
}

// Test
$array = range_str(' 2 - 4 ');
print_r($array);

?>

This outputs:

Array
(
    [0] => 2
    [1] => 3
    [2] => 4
)
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