array ( 0 => 'index.php', 1 => 'PHP Manual', ), 'head' => array ( 0 => 'UTF-8', 1 => 'en', ), 'this' => array ( 0 => 'function.prev.php', 1 => 'prev', 2 => 'Rewind the internal array pointer', ), 'up' => array ( 0 => 'ref.array.php', 1 => 'Array Functions', ), 'prev' => array ( 0 => 'function.pos.php', 1 => 'pos', ), 'next' => array ( 0 => 'function.range.php', 1 => 'range', ), 'alternatives' => array ( ), 'source' => array ( 'lang' => 'en', 'path' => 'reference/array/functions/prev.xml', ), 'history' => array ( ), ); $setup["toc"] = $TOC; $setup["toc_deprecated"] = $TOC_DEPRECATED; $setup["parents"] = $PARENTS; manual_setup($setup); contributors($setup); ?>

prev

(PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8)

prev — Rewind the internal array pointer

Description

prev(array|object &$array): mixed

Rewind the internal array pointer.

prev() behaves just like next(), except it rewinds the internal array pointer one place instead of advancing it.

Parameters

array

The input array.

Return Values

Returns the array value in the previous place that's pointed to by the internal array pointer, or false if there are no more elements.

Warning

This function may return Boolean false, but may also return a non-Boolean value which evaluates to false. Please read the section on Booleans for more information. Use the === operator for testing the return value of this function.

Changelog

Version Description
8.1.0 Calling this function on objects is deprecated. Either convert the object to an array using get_mangled_object_vars() first, or use the methods provided by a class that implements Iterator, such as ArrayIterator, instead.
7.4.0 Instances of SPL classes are now treated like empty objects that have no properties instead of calling the Iterator method with the same name as this function.

Examples

Example #1 Example use of prev() and friends

<?php
$transport = array('foot', 'bike', 'car', 'plane');
echo $mode = current($transport), PHP_EOL; // $mode = 'foot';
echo $mode = next($transport), PHP_EOL; // $mode = 'bike';
echo $mode = next($transport), PHP_EOL; // $mode = 'car';
echo $mode = prev($transport), PHP_EOL; // $mode = 'bike';
echo $mode = end($transport), PHP_EOL; // $mode = 'plane';
?>

Notes

Note: The beginning of an array is indistinguishable from a bool false element. To make the distinction, check that the key() of the prev() element is not null.

See Also