PHP Manual: extract

Description

function extract(array &$array, int $flags = EXTR_OVERWRITE, string $prefix = ""): int

Import variables from an array into the current symbol table.

Checks each key to see whether it has a valid variable name. It also checks for collisions with existing variables in the symbol table.

Warning

Do not use extract() on untrusted data, like user input (e.g. $_GET, $_FILES).

Parameters

array

An associative array. This function treats keys as variable names and values as variable values. For each key/value pair it will create a variable in the current symbol table, subject to flags and prefix parameters.

You must use an associative array; a numerically indexed array will not produce results unless you use EXTR_PREFIX_ALL or EXTR_PREFIX_INVALID.

flags

The way invalid/numeric keys and collisions are treated is determined by the extraction flags. It can be one of the following values:

EXTR_OVERWRITE: If there is a collision, overwrite the existing variable.
EXTR_SKIP: If there is a collision, don't overwrite the existing variable.
EXTR_PREFIX_SAME: If there is a collision, prefix the variable name with prefix.
EXTR_PREFIX_ALL: Prefix all variable names with prefix.
EXTR_PREFIX_INVALID: Only prefix invalid/numeric variable names with prefix.
EXTR_IF_EXISTS: Only overwrite the variable if it already exists in the current symbol table, otherwise do nothing. This is useful for defining a list of valid variables and then extracting only those variables you have defined out of $_REQUEST, for example.
EXTR_PREFIX_IF_EXISTS: Only create prefixed variable names if the non-prefixed version of the same variable exists in the current symbol table.
EXTR_REFS: Extracts variables as references. This effectively means that the values of the imported variables are still referencing the values of the array parameter. You can use this flag on its own or combine it with any other flag by OR'ing the flags.

If flags is not specified, it is assumed to be EXTR_OVERWRITE.

prefix

Note that prefix is only required if flags is EXTR_PREFIX_SAME, EXTR_PREFIX_ALL, EXTR_PREFIX_INVALID or EXTR_PREFIX_IF_EXISTS. If the prefixed result is not a valid variable name, it is not imported into the symbol table. Prefixes are automatically separated from the array key by an underscore character.

Return Values

Returns the number of variables successfully imported into the symbol table.

Errors/Exceptions

Throws a ValueError if flags is not a valid extract type, if prefix is not given but flags needs it, or if prefix is not a valid variable name.

Changelog

Version	Description
8.0.0	Now throws a ValueError for an invalid `flags` or `prefix`. Previously, an `E_WARNING` was raised and `null` was returned.

Examples

Example #1 extract() example

<?php
$size = "large";
$var_array = array(
    "color" => "blue",
    "size"  => "medium",
    "shape" => "sphere"
);

extract($var_array, EXTR_PREFIX_SAME, "wddx");

echo "$color, $size, $shape, $wddx_size\n";

?>

The above example will output:

blue, large, sphere, medium

The $size wasn't overwritten because we specified EXTR_PREFIX_SAME, which resulted in $wddx_size being created. If EXTR_SKIP was specified, then $wddx_size wouldn't even have been created. EXTR_OVERWRITE would have caused $size to have value "medium", and EXTR_PREFIX_ALL would result in new variables being named $wddx_color, $wddx_size, and $wddx_shape.

Notes