Arrays · Lesson 5 of 7

Looping Through Arrays

Iterate over array values or key-value pairs with foreach.

Lesson

foreach is the usual way to read every item in an array. Capture both key and value when the key carries meaning. Keep output escaping at the point where data enters HTML, and avoid modifying a collection while iterating unless the behavior is deliberate. This example uses keys to format a compact settings list. Further guidance Choose list indexes for ordered items and descriptive keys for named fields. Check whether an expected key exists before reading it, and preserve keys when their association matters during sorting or filtering. Use a small fixture to test empty, single-item, and nested data. Practice task: Create a fresh example for Looping Through Arrays. Predict the result before running it, then change one input and explain why the result changes. Test a normal case and one boundary or invalid case where it applies. Compare your output with the example and note one rule you would use in a real project.

Code examples

PHP

$settings = ['theme' => 'dark', 'language' => 'en'];
foreach ($settings as $key => $value) {
    echo "$key=$value ";
}

Expected output

theme=dark language=en

Key points

Iterate over array values or key-value pairs with foreach.
Use descriptive keys for records and indexes for ordered lists.
Check keys and bounds before accessing data that may be absent.

Your learning progress

Finish this lesson

Optional practice

PHP playground

This site does not execute learner-provided PHP code. Connect a secured PHP sandbox service before enabling code execution.

Execution is disabled. No code is sent to a server.