Why Can't We Use Foreach Loop On The String Like For Loop

Question

so i undrestand a string is array of charachters so we can do something like this

$str = 'abc';
for ($i = 0; $i < strlen($str); $i++){
   echo "$i -> $str[$i] <br /> ";
}

which results in

0 -> a
1 -> b
2 -> c

but why can't i do this process with foreach loop ?

$str = 'abc';
foreach($str as $k=>$v )
    echo "$k -> $v <br /> ";

result would be

 Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()

this is not a practical question , im not trying to use foreach on string and i dont need another alternative solution like str_split just a theoretical question

Possible duplicate of [PHP - iterate on string characters](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4601032/php-iterate-on-string-characters) — LF00, Apr 13 '17 at 06:34

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 13 '17 at 06:31

4

Foreach needs array (or object), and string is not "true" array. It is just some help feature, that you can access to chars as in array.

foreach(str_split($str) as $k=>$v)

answered Apr 13 '17 at 06:31

Autista_z

2,491
15
25

str_split — Convert a string to an array http://php.net/manual/en/function.str-split.php IN foreach need array. – Amitesh Kumar Apr 13 '17 at 06:35
As you write, you need in foreach array. So i make from string array, and makes foreach for it. – Autista_z Apr 13 '17 at 06:38
question is why we cant use foreach loop , not how we can use foreach loop for string. – Amitesh Kumar Apr 13 '17 at 06:41
I answed him in text. String is not array. And he only now adds, that he does not need solution, I could not know he wants theory only, not solution. – Autista_z Apr 13 '17 at 06:43

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 13 '17 at 06:30

Foreach loop works only on array.

The foreach construct provides an easy way to iterate over arrays. foreach works only on arrays and objects, and will issue an error when you try to use it on a variable with a different data type or an uninitialized variable. There are two syntaxes:

foreach (array_expression as $value)
    statement
foreach (array_expression as $key => $value)
    statement

More Information....

Why Can't We Use Foreach Loop On The String Like For Loop

2 Answers2