shuffle() randomizes the order of the elements in an array and assign new key to elements

shuffle(): randomize array order

shuffle() randomizes an array in place and reindexes numeric keys. It returns true rather than a shuffled copy, so inspect the same array after calling it.

$items = ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D'];
shuffle($items);
print_r($items);

Use shuffle() for ordinary random ordering, not for security-sensitive randomness.

shuffle($input_array);

Returns true on success and false on failure. The order of the elements of $input_array is changed and new key is assigned to each elements.

Example

$my_array=array(0,1,2,3,4,5,6);
shuffle($my_array);
foreach ($my_array as $element) {
    echo $element . "  ";
}

Output is here

4 2 0 5 3 1 6

Example

$my_array=array('One','Two','Three','Four','Five');
shuffle($my_array);
echo "<br><br>";
foreach ($my_array as $key => $val) {
echo "$key -> $val <br>";
}

Output

0 -> Two 
1 -> Five 
2 -> Three 
3 -> Four 
4 -> One

Example with Literal Keys

$my_array=array('Fruits1' =>'Banana','Fruits2'=>'Mango','Fruits3'=>'Apple','Fruits4'=>'Grapes');
shuffle($my_array);
foreach ($my_array as $key => $val) {
echo "$key -> $val <br>";
}

Output

0 -> Mango 
1 -> Apple 
2 -> Banana 
3 -> Grapes

Example with Multidimensional Aarray

$my_array=array(array("path"=>"php_tutorial","section"=>"php"),
array("path"=>"sql_tutorial","section"=>"sql"),
array("path"=>"javascript_tutorial","section"=>"js"),
array("path"=>"html_tutorial","section"=>"html"),
);
shuffle($my_array);
$max=sizeof($my_array);
for($i=0; $i<$max; $i++) { 

foreach ($my_array[$i] as $key => $val) { 
echo "$key -> $val <br>"; 
} // inner array while loop

} // outer array for loop

Output is here

path -> javascript_tutorial 
section -> js 
path -> sql_tutorial 
section -> sql 
path -> php_tutorial 
section -> php 
path -> html_tutorial 
section -> html

Using range with shuffle

Creating an array with elements from 0 to 10 in random order.

$my_array=range(0,10);
shuffle($my_array);
foreach ($my_array as $element) {
    echo $element . "  ";
}

Output is here

4 5 2 3 7 9 1 8 10 0 6

All the above outputs will changed if you re run the script.
Creating array with a range
Array REFERENCE

Subhendu Mohapatra

Author & Instructor at plus2net

I write and maintain practical tutorials on Python, PHP, SQL, JavaScript, HTML, jQuery, and web development at plus2net. The tutorials focus on clear explanations, working examples, and code that readers can test and adapt while learning.

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