Handy Array Functions

In this lesson you will learn PHP's handy array functions so you can sort and transform data efficiently. This is for anyone searching for "PHP sort array_map how to use".

sort() reorders an array and array_map() applies an operation to every element. PHP ships with a great many convenient array functions. Sorting shows up daily in web applications, for ranking displays and ordering search results.

The sample code sorts a numeric array into ascending order with sort($nums), then builds a new array with every element doubled using array_map(function ($n) { return $n * 2; }, $nums). Notice how implode(", ", $nums) turns an array into a readable string.

A common stumbling block for beginners is that sort() modifies the original array in place. Unlike array_map(), which returns a new array, sort reorders the values ascending and rewrites the original directly. Miss that difference and you will be surprised by data changing under you.

The functional style of array_map is widely used in PHP too. Transforming a list of data before displaying it is a pattern that comes up constantly in real PHP applications.

📖 Reference code

<?php
$nums = [5, 3, 8, 1, 9];
sort($nums);
echo implode(", ", $nums) . "\n";

$doubled = array_map(function ($n) { return $n * 2; }, $nums);
echo implode(", ", $doubled) . "\n";

✍️ Your code

Type your code, then press "Run"

🧪 This site can't compile or run PHP directly, so it checks on the spot whether what you typed matches the reference code (scoring happens entirely in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere).