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end() + each(): How to simulate the traversal method of forEach with pointers?

M66 2025-06-02

In PHP, end() and each() are two very common functions, usually related to array operations and traversal. Although foreach is the most commonly used method of array traversal, you can also simulate foreach -like traversal behavior by using pointer functions. Today, we will discuss how to use end() and each() to imitate the traversal process of foreach .

Understand end() and each()

1. end() function

The end() function is used to move the internal pointer of the array to the last element of the array and return the value of that element. This way, you can access the last element of the array without changing the array itself.

Example:

 $array = [1, 2, 3, 4];
echo end($array);  // Output 4

2. each() function

Each() function returns the current key-value pair in the array and moves the internal pointer one by one. It returns an array ( key and value ) containing the key name and key value. When the inner pointer is moved to the last element of the array, calling each() again will return false .

Example:

 $array = [1, 2, 3, 4];
print_r(each($array));  // Output: Array ( [0] => 1 [value] => 1 [key] => 0 )

How to simulate forEach traversal using end() and each()

Foreach is a common method for traversing arrays in PHP, but if you want to manually control the traversal process through array pointers, you can simulate this traversal behavior through end() and each() .

step:

  1. Initialize the array : First, we need an array to traverse.

  2. Use end() to locate the last element of the array : we locate the array pointer by calling the end() function.

  3. Use each() to traverse the array : We iterate over the array in each() until each() returns false , indicating that the array traversal has been completed.

Complete example:

 <?php
$array = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];

// Move the pointer to the last element of the array
end($array);

// simulation foreach Traversal
while ($element = each($array)) {
    echo "key: " . $element['key'] . "，value: " . $element['value'] . "\n";
}
?>

Code parsing

  1. end($array) : Move the inner pointer of the array to the last element of the array.

  2. each($array) : Returns the key-value pair of the current element of the array and moves the pointer to the next element.

  3. While loop : Continue to iterate over the array until each() returns false .

in conclusion

By using end() and each() , we can manually traverse the array through array pointers, thus achieving foreach -like functionality. Although foreach is more concise and efficient in most cases, end() and each() provide an interesting alternative if you want to have more flexibility in controlling the movement of array pointers.

Additional Notes:

In this article, the each() function we used has been abandoned in PHP 7.2.0 and has been completely removed in PHP 8.0. Therefore, if you are using a higher version of PHP, you may need to use other methods to iterate over the array, such as foreach or for loops.

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