PHP list constructor

PHP list assign variables as if they were an array, at least that’s the definition on official page. I would say it assigns the elements of the array to variables, variables that will be created when we pass them as parameters to list.

Let’s first look at its description and syntax, and then we can conduct some tests to have a clearer understanding of the concept.

list(mixed $var1, mixed ...$... = ?): array

list($variable1,$variable2) =$mi_array;

Examples

Let’s start with a simple example that also uses the array_values function.

$caracteristicas_auto = [
    "marca" => "Toyota",
    "modelo" => "Camry",
    "año" => 2022,
    "color" => "Azul",
    "motor" => "2.5L",
    "tracción" => "Delantera"
];

list($marca, $modelo, $año, $color, $motor, $traccion) = array_values($caracteristicas_auto);

echo "Marca: " . $marca . "<br>";
echo "Modelo: " . $modelo . "<br>";
echo "Año: " . $año . "<br>";
echo "Color: " . $color . "<br>";
echo "Motor: " . $motor . "<br>";
echo "Tracción: " . $traccion . "<br>";

Marca: Toyota
Modelo: Camry
Año: 2022
Color: Azul
Motor: 2.5L
Tracción: Delantera

Let’s look at another example to explore more features of list.

$info = array('café', 'marrón', 'cafeína');

// Enumerar todas las variables
list($bebida, $color, $energía) = $info;
echo "El $bebida es $color y la $energía lo hace especial.\n";

// Enumerar algunas de ellas
list($bebida, , $energía) = $info;
echo "El $bebida tiene $energía.\n";

// U omitir solo la tercera
list( , , $energía) = $info;
echo "Necesito $energía!\n";

// list() no funciona con cadenas
list($bar) = "abcde";
var_dump($bar); // NULL

El café es marrón y la cafeína lo hace especial.
El café tiene cafeína.
Necesito cafeína!
NULL

The list function can be used in conjunction with Heredoc, as you can create a list to then display on the screen in a clear way, thus helping the readability of the code.

Reference: https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.list.php