array_rand

Function • Params and return types changed in PHP 8.0

Pick one or more random keys out of an array.

PHP 5
PHP 7
PHP 8.0
Improved
PHP 8.1
PHP 8.2-8.3
PHP 8.4
PHP 8.5
PHP 8.6

array_rand Function synopsis

array_rand(array $array, int $num = 1): array|string|int

Parameters

$array

Typearray

The input array. Cannot be empty.

$num

OptionalTypeintDefault value1

Specifies how many entries should be picked. Must be greater than zero, and less than or equal to the length of $array

Return value

Typearray|string|int

When picking only one entry, array_rand returns the key for a random entry. Otherwise, an array of keys for the random entries is returned. This is done so that random keys can be picked from the array as well as random values. If multiple keys are returned, they will be returned in the order they were present in the original array.

Changes to the array_rand Function

PHP 8.0

  • Return type added: array|string|int
  • Parameter name of parameter #1 changed: $arg to $array
  • Parameter type added for parameter #1 ($array): array
  • Parameter name of parameter #2 changed: $num_req to $num
  • Parameter type added for parameter #2 ($num): int
  • Parameter default value added for position #2 ($num): 1
- array_rand($arg, $num_req)
+ array_rand(array $array, int $num = 1): array|string|int

array_rand Function Availability

PHP VersionAvailability
PHP 8.6Upcoming Release Yes
PHP 8.5Supported (Latest) Yes
PHP 8.4Supported Yes
PHP 8.3Security-Fixes Only Yes
PHP 8.2Security-Fixes Only Yes
PHP 8.1Unsupported Yes
PHP 8.0Unsupported Yes
PHP 7.4Unsupported Yes
PHP 7.3Unsupported Yes
PHP 7.2Unsupported Yes
PHP 7.1Unsupported Yes
PHP 7.0Unsupported Yes
PHP 5.6Unsupported Yes
PHP 5.5Unsupported Yes
PHP 5.4Unsupported Yes
PHP 5.3Unsupported Yes