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How to get the last element of an array without deleting it?

stackoverflow.com › questions › 3687358 › how-to-get-the-last-element-of-an-array-without-deleting-it

Try end:

$myLastElement = end($yourArray);

Note that this doesn't just return the last element of the passed array, it also modifies the array's internal pointer, which is used by current, each, prev, and next.

For PHP >= 7.3.0:

If you are using PHP version 7.3.0 or later, you can use array_key_last, which returns the last key of the array without modifying its internal pointer. So to get the last value, you can do:

$myLastElement = $yourArray[array_key_last($yourArray)];

Answer from Iznogood on Stack Overflow

PHP

php.net › manual › en › function.end.php

PHP: end - Manual

If all you want is the last item ... <?php function endc( $array ) { return end( $array ); } $items = array( 'one', 'two', 'three' ); $lastItem = endc( $items ); // three $current = current( $items ); // one ?> This works ...

W3Schools

w3schools.com › php › func_array_end.asp

PHP end() Function

Loops While Loop Do While Loop For Loop Foreach Loop Break Statement Continue Statement PHP Functions PHP Arrays

Videos

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19: Pop an element off the end of a PHP array - YouTube

November 23, 2020

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16: How to push an element to the end of a PHP array - PHP 7 Tutorial ...

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PHP arrays explained - YouTube

May 20, 2024

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Stack Overflow

stackoverflow.com › questions › 3687358 › how-to-get-the-last-element-of-an-array-without-deleting-it

php - How to get the last element of an array without deleting it? - Stack Overflow

For PHP >= 7.3.0:

If you are using PHP version 7.3.0 or later, you can use array_key_last, which returns the last key of the array without modifying its internal pointer. So to get the last value, you can do:

$myLastElement = $yourArray[array_key_last($yourArray)];

2 of 16

362

The many answers in this thread present us with many different options. To be able to choose from them I needed to understand their behavior and performance. In this answer I will share my findings with you, benchmarked against PHP versions 5.6.38, 7.2.10 and 7.3.0RC1 (expected Dec 13 2018).

The options (<<option code>>s) I will test are:

option .1. $x = array_values(array_slice($array, -1))[0]; (as suggested by rolacja)
option .2. $x = array_slice($array, -1)[0]; (as suggested by Stoutie)
option .3. $x = array_pop((array_slice($array, -1))); (as suggested by rolacja)
option .4. $x = array_pop((array_slice($array, -1, 1))); (as suggested by Westy92)
option .5. array); reset($array); (as suggested by Iznogood)
option .6. $x = end((array_values($array))); (as suggested by TecBrat)
option .7. array[count($array)-1]; (as suggested by Mirko Pagliai)
option .8. $keys = array_keys($array); array[$keys[count($keys)-1]]; (as suggested by thrau)
option .9. array[] = array_pop($array); (as suggested by user2782001)
option 10. array[array_key_last($array)]; (as suggested by Quasimodo's clone ; available per PHP 7.3)

(functions mentioned: array_key_last , array_keys , array_pop , array_slice , array_values , count , end , reset)

The test inputs (<<input code>>s) to combine with:

null = $array = null;
empty = $array = [];
last_null = $array = ["a","b","c",null];
auto_idx = $array = ["a","b","c","d"];
shuffle = $array = []; $array[1] = "a"; $array[2] = "b"; $array[0] = "c";
100 = $array = []; for(i<100;$i++) { $array[] = $i; }
100000 = $array = []; for(i<100000;$i++) { $array[] = $i; }

For testing I will use the 5.6.38, 7.2.10 and 7.3.0RC1 PHP docker containers like:

sudo docker run -it --rm php:5.6.38-cli-stretch php -r '<<<CODE HERE>>>'

Each combination of the above listed <<option code>>s and <<input code>>s will be run on all versions of PHP. For each test run the following code snippet is used:

<<input code>>  error_reporting(E_ALL);  <<option code>>  error_reporting(0); $before=microtime(TRUE); for(i<100;$i++){echo ".";for(j<100;$j++){  <<option code>>  }}; $after=microtime(TRUE); echo "\n"; var_dump($x); echo round(($after-$before)/(100*100)*1000*1000*1000);

For each run this will var_dump the last retrieved last value of the test input and print the average duration of one iteration in femtoseconds (0.000000000000001th of a second).

The results are as follows:

/==========================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================\
||                                                                      ||                            T  E  S  T     I  N  P  U  T     -     5  .  6  .  3  8                            ||                             T  E  S  T     I  N  P  U  T     -     7  .  2  .  1  0                           ||                             T  E  S  T     I  N  P  U  T     -     7  .  3  .  0  R  C  1                     ||
||                                                                      ||          null |         empty |     last_null |      auto_idx |       shuffle |           100 |        100000 ||          null |         empty |     last_null |      auto_idx |       shuffle |           100 |        100000 ||          null |         empty |     last_null |      auto_idx |       shuffle |           100 |        100000 ||
||============================OPTIONS - ERRORS==========================++===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============++===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============++===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============<|
||  1.  $x = array_values(array_slice($array, -1))[0];                  ||       W1 + W2 |            N1 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||       W1 + W2 |            N1 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||       W1 + W2 |            N1 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||
||  2.  $x = array_slice($array, -1)[0];                                ||            W1 |            N1 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||            W1 |            N1 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||            W1 |            N1 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||
||  3.  $x = array_pop((array_slice($array, -1)));                      ||       W1 + W3 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||  W1 + N2 + W3 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 ||  W1 + N2 + W3 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 ||
||  4.  $x = array_pop((array_slice($array, -1, 1)));                   ||       W1 + W3 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||  W1 + N2 + W3 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 ||  W1 + N2 + W3 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 ||
||  5.  array); reset($array);                                ||       W4 + W5 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||       W4 + W5 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 ||       W4 + W5 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||
||  6.  $x = end((array_values($array)));                               ||       W2 + W4 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||  W2 + N2 + W4 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||  W2 + N2 + W4 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 |            N2 ||
||  7.  array[count($array)-1];                                   ||             - |            N3 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||            W7 |            N3 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||            W7 |            N3 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||
||  8.  $keys = array_keys($array); array[$keys[count($keys)-1]]; ||            W6 |       N3 + N4 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||       W6 + W7 |       N3 + N4 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||       W6 + W7 |       N3 + N4 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||
||  9.  array[] = array_pop($array);                              ||            W3 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||            W3 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||            W3 |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - |             - ||
|| 10.  array[array_key_last($array)];                            ||            F1 |            F1 |            F1 |            F1 |            F1 |            F1 |            F1 ||            F2 |            F2 |            F2 |            F2 |            F2 |            F2 |            F2 ||            W8 |            N4 |            F2 |            F2 |            F2 |            F2 |            F2 ||
||========================OPTIONS - VALUE RETRIEVED=====================++===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============++===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============++===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============<|
||  1.  $x = array_values(array_slice($array, -1))[0];                  ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||
||  2.  $x = array_slice($array, -1)[0];                                ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||
||  3.  $x = array_pop((array_slice($array, -1)));                      ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||
||  4.  $x = array_pop((array_slice($array, -1, 1)));                   ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||
||  5.  array); reset($array);                                ||          NULL |   bool(false) |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |   bool(false) |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |   bool(false) |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||
||  6.  $x = end((array_values($array)));                               ||          NULL |   bool(false) |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |   bool(false) |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |   bool(false) |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||
||  7.  array[count($array)-1];                                   ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "b" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "b" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "b" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||
||  8.  $keys = array_keys($array); array[$keys[count($keys)-1]]; ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||
||  9.  array[] = array_pop($array);                              ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||          NULL |          NULL |          NULL | string(1) "d" | string(1) "c" |       int(99) |    int(99999) ||
|| 10.  array[array_key_last($array)];                            ||           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A ||           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A ||           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A ||
||=================OPTIONS - FEMTOSECONDS PER ITERATION=================++===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============++===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============++===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============+===============<|
||  1.  $x = array_values(array_slice($array, -1))[0];                  ||           803 |           466 |           390 |           384 |           373 |           764 |     1.046.642 ||           691 |           252 |           101 |           128 |            93 |           170 |        89.028 ||           695 |           235 |            90 |            97 |            95 |           188 |        87.991 ||
||  2.  $x = array_slice($array, -1)[0];                                ||           414 |           349 |           252 |           248 |           246 |           604 |     1.038.074 ||           373 |           249 |            85 |            91 |            90 |           164 |        90.750 ||           367 |           224 |            78 |            85 |            80 |           155 |        86.141 ||
||  3.  $x = array_pop((array_slice($array, -1)));                      ||           724 |           228 |           323 |           318 |           350 |           673 |     1.042.263 ||           988 |           285 |           309 |           317 |           331 |           401 |        88.363 ||           877 |           266 |           298 |           300 |           326 |           403 |        87.279 ||
||  4.  $x = array_pop((array_slice($array, -1, 1)));                   ||           734 |           266 |           358 |           356 |           349 |           699 |     1.050.101 ||           887 |           288 |           316 |           322 |           314 |           408 |        88.402 ||           935 |           268 |           335 |           315 |           313 |           403 |        86.445 ||
||  5.  array); reset($array);                                ||           715 |           186 |           185 |           180 |           176 |           185 |           172 ||           674 |            73 |            69 |            70 |            66 |            65 |            70 ||           693 |            65 |            85 |            74 |            68 |            70 |            69 ||
||  6.  $x = end((array_values($array)));                               ||           877 |           205 |           320 |           337 |           304 |         2.901 |     7.921.860 ||           948 |           300 |           336 |           308 |           309 |           509 |    29.696.951 ||           946 |           262 |           301 |           309 |           302 |           499 |    29.234.928 ||
||  7.  array[count($array)-1];                                   ||           123 |           300 |           137 |           139 |           143 |           140 |           144 ||           312 |           218 |            48 |            53 |            45 |            47 |            51 ||           296 |           217 |            46 |            44 |            53 |            53 |            55 ||
||  8.  $keys = array_keys($array); array[$keys[count($keys)-1]]; ||           494 |           593 |           418 |           435 |           399 |         3.873 |    12.199.450 ||           665 |           407 |           103 |           109 |           114 |           431 |    30.053.730 ||           647 |           445 |            91 |            95 |            96 |           419 |    30.718.586 ||
||  9.  array[] = array_pop($array);                              ||           186 |           178 |           175 |           188 |           180 |           181 |           186 ||            83 |            78 |            75 |            71 |            74 |            69 |            83 ||            71 |            64 |            70 |            64 |            68 |            69 |            81 ||
|| 10.  array[array_key_last($array)];                            ||           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A ||           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A |           N/A ||           370 |           223 |            49 |            52 |            61 |            57 |            52 ||
 \=========================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================/

The above mentioned Fatal, Warning and Notice codes translate as:

F1 = Fatal error: Call to undefined function array_key_last() in Command line code on line 1
F2 = Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function array_key_last() in Command line code:1
W1 = Warning: array_slice() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in Command line code on line 1
W2 = Warning: array_values() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in Command line code on line 1
W3 = Warning: array_pop() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in Command line code on line 1
W4 = Warning: end() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in Command line code on line 1
W5 = Warning: reset() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in Command line code on line 1
W6 = Warning: array_keys() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in Command line code on line 1
W7 = Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in Command line code on line 1
W8 = Warning: array_key_last() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in Command line code on line 1
N1 = Notice: Undefined offset: 0 in Command line code on line 1
N2 = Notice: Only variables should be passed by reference in Command line code on line 1
N3 = Notice: Undefined offset: -1 in Command line code on line 1
N4 = Notice: Undefined index:  in Command line code on line 1

Based on this output I draw the following conclusions:

newer versions of PHP perform better with the exception of these options that became significantly slower:
- option .6. $x = end((array_values($array)));
- option .8. $keys = array_keys($array); array[$keys[count($keys)-1]];
these options scale best for very large arrays:
- option .5. array); reset($array);
- option .7. array[count($array)-1];
- option .9. array[] = array_pop($array);
- option 10. array[array_key_last($array)]; (since PHP 7.3)
these options should only be used for auto-indexed arrays:
- option .7. array[count($array)-1]; (due to use of count)
- option .9. array[] = array_pop($array); (due to assigning value losing original key)
this option does not preserve the array's internal pointer
- option .5. array); reset($array);
this option is an attempt to modify option .5. to preserve the array's internal pointer (but sadly it does not scale well for very large arrays)
- option .6. $x = end((array_values($array)));
the new array_key_last function seems to have none of the above mentioned limitations with the exception of still being an RC at the time of this writing (so use the RC or await it's release Dec 2018):
- option 10. array[array_key_last($array)]; (since PHP 7.3)

A bit depending on whether using the array as stack or as queue you can make variations on option 9.

GeeksforGeeks

geeksforgeeks.org › php › php-end-function

PHP end() Function - GeeksforGeeks

September 16, 2024 - The end() function changes the internal pointer of an array to point to the last element and returns the value of the last element.

Tutorial Republic

tutorialrepublic.com › php-reference › php-end-function.php

PHP end() Function - Tutorial Republic

The end() function set the internal pointer of an array to its last element, and returns its value.

Uptimia

uptimia.com › home › questions › how to get the last element of an array in php without deleting it?

How To Get The Last Element Of An Array in PHP Without Deleting It?

October 30, 2024 - $array = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']; $lastElement = end($array); reset($array); This allows you to continue using other array functions without unexpected behavior. For PHP versions 7.3.0 and later, the array_key_last() function gets the last element ...

W3docs

w3docs.com › learn-php › end.html

Understanding PHP's array end() function

At its simplest, the end() function returns the last value of an array. However, there are some important nuances to be aware of when using this function.

Envato Tuts+

code.tutsplus.com › home › coding fundamentals

Get the First and Last Elements of an Array in PHP | Envato Tuts+

April 19, 2021 - One thing you should keep in mind ... again, this will not work with associative arrays. You can use the end() function in PHP to get the last element of any PHP array....

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clouddevs.com › home › php guides › guide: how to use php’s end() function

A Deep Dive into PHP's end() Function

May 19, 2025 - This function can be incredibly handy when working with arrays, especially in scenarios where you need to quickly access the last value without iterating through the entire array. The basic syntax of the end() function is straightforward: ... ```php $fruits = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']; $lastFruit = end($fruits); echo $lastFruit; // Outputs: cherry ```

GeeksforGeeks

geeksforgeeks.org › php › how-to-add-elements-to-the-end-of-an-array-in-php

How to Add Elements to the End of an Array in PHP? - GeeksforGeeks

July 23, 2025 - Here, 'grape' and 'mango' are added to the end of the $fruits array. In PHP, you can also add elements to the end of an array by using square brackets [] without specifying an index.

Codalas

codalas.com › en › 2312 › identifying-the-last-element-in-an-array-in-php

Identifying the Last Element in an Array in PHP: Best Practices

A key aspect of arrays in PHP is ... important for consistency in array operations. The end() function moves the internal pointer of an array to its last element and returns the value of that element....

EDUCBA

educba.com › home › software development › software development tutorials › php tutorial › php get last element of array

PHP get last element of array | How to get last element of array in PHP

April 4, 2023 - End() function is the inbuilt function in PHP which is extensively used to get the last element using internal pointer changes pointing to the last element of an array, which means it all depends on the return type, which has its own significance.

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Koenwoortman

koenwoortman.com › php-last-element-of-array

Get the last element of an array in PHP

The end() function sets the internal pointer of the array to its last element and returns it's value. It works pretty straight forward, after this function call the array is still intact and you can do with the return value what you'd like; assign it to a variable, print it, e.g. &LT?php $dogs ...

Tutorial Republic

tutorialrepublic.com › faq › how-to-remove-the-last-element-from-an-array-in-php.php

How to Remove the Last Element from an Array in PHP

You can use the PHP array_pop() function to remove an element or value from the end of an array. The array_pop() function also returns the last value of array.

Runoob

runoob.com › php › func-array-end.html

PHP end() 函数 | 菜鸟教程

<?php $people = array("Peter", "Joe", "Glenn", "Cleveland"); echo current($people) . "<br>"; echo end($people); ?> 运行实例 » · end() 函数将内部指针指向数组中的最后一个元素，并输出。 · 相关的方法： · current() - 返回数组中的当前元素的值。 ·

ZetCode

zetcode.com › php-array › end

PHP end - Array Pointer in PHP

The PHP end function moves the internal array pointer to the last element and returns its value.