PHP array_merge with numerical keys

Use the + operator.

Compare array_merge to + operator:

<?php

$a1 = array(0=>"whatever",);
$a2 = array(0=>"whatever",1=>"a",2=>"b");

print_r(array_merge($a1,$a2));
print_r($a1+$a2);
?>

Output:

Array
(
    [0] => whatever
    [1] => whatever
    [2] => a
    [3] => b
)
Array
(
    [0] => whatever
    [1] => a
    [2] => b
)

The + operator still works if your associative array has the numerical keys out-of-order:

<?php

$a1 = array(0=>"whatever",);
$a2 = array(1=>"a",0=>"whatever",2=>"b");

print_r(array_merge($a1,$a2));
print_r($a1+$a2);
?>

Output:

Array
(
    [0] => whatever
    [1] => a
    [2] => whatever
    [3] => b
)
Array
(
    [0] => whatever
    [1] => a
    [2] => b
)

Notice array_merge in this case creates a new key. Not desirable...

You could use array_merge() and then use array_unique().

Pretty easy to write manually:

function array_merge_custom($first, $second) {
    $result = array();
    foreach($first as $key => $value) {
        $result[$key] = $value;
    }
    foreach($second as $key => $value) {
        $result[$key] = $value;
    }

    return $result;
}

Update: This behaves differently than the union operator (return $first + $second;) because in this case the second array wins when both have elements with the same key.

However, if you switch the places of the arguments and place the array that you want to "win" in case of conflicts as the first operand, you can get the same behavior. So the function above behaves exactly like return $second + $first;.

function array_merge_custom()
{
    $array      = array();
    $arguments  = func_num_args();
    foreach($arguments as $args)
        foreach($args as $key => $value)
            $array[$key] = $value;
    return $array;
}