PHP Exercises: Return all elements in a given array except for the first one

Last update on May 27 2025 13:08:26 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

90. Return Array Excluding the First Element

Write a PHP program to return all elements in a given array except for the first one.

Sample Solution:

PHP Code:

<?php
// Licence: https://bit.ly/2CFA5XY

// Function definition for 'tail' that takes an array of items as a parameter
function tail($items)
{
    // Use 'count' to check if the array has more than one element
    // If true, use 'array_slice' to return all elements except the first one, otherwise return the original array
    return count($items) > 1 ? array_slice($items, 1) : $items;
}

// Call 'tail' with an array and display the result using 'print_r'
print_r(tail([1, 2, 3]));

?>

Explanation:

Function Definition:

The function tail is defined to take one parameter:

$items: an array of items.

Counting Elements:

The function uses count($items) to determine the number of elements in the array.

Conditional Logic:

If the array has more than one element (count($items) > 1):

array_slice($items, 1) is called to return a new array containing all elements except the first one.
If the array has one or no elements, the function returns the original array ($items).

Purpose:

The tail function effectively retrieves all elements of the array except the first, but if the array has only one or no elements, it returns the array as-is.

Function Call:

The tail function is called with the array [1, 2, 3].

Displaying Results:

The result of the tail function call is displayed using print_r, which shows the array excluding the first element. In this case, the output will be [2, 3].

Output:

Array
(
    [0] => 2
    [1] => 3
)

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

Write a PHP script to create a new array that excludes the first element from the original array.
Write a PHP function to slice an array starting from the second element and output the remainder.
Write a PHP script to extract all elements after the head of an array using array_slice.
Write a PHP script to return a modified array with the initial element removed and display the new list.

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PREV : Filter Collection Using a Callback Function.
NEXT : Remove n Elements from the Beginning of an Array.

PHP Code Editor:

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