How to Efficiently Retrieve the First N Elements from an Array in PHP?

Best Practices for Retrieving the First N Elements from an Array

Problem:

Determining the most efficient method to obtain an array's initial 'N' elements.

Solution:

Utilize array_slice()

As illustrated in the PHP manual:

<code class="php">$input = array("a", "b", "c", "d", "e");
$output = array_slice($input, 0, 3); // Returns "a", "b", and "c"</code>

Caveat:

For arrays with meaningful indices, be aware that array_slice() can alter and reorder numeric indices. To preserve these values, set the "preserve_keys" flag to true.

Example (with preserved keys):

<code class="php">$output = array_slice($input, 2, 3, true);</code>

Output:

array([3]=> 'c', [4]=> 'd', [5]=> 'e');

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