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Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2012 13:43:41 +0200
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Subject: array_shift() and reindexing
From: jille@quis.cx (Jille Timmermans)

Hello,

array_shift() currently reindexes the array after shifting one element. 
The reindexing has quite some impact on it's performance. I would like 
to suggest an extra parameter to array_shift() which can be used to 
prevent reindexing.

 From a few quick (and sloppy!) tests I get these results:
   `reset($array); list($key, $value) = each($array); 
unset($array[$key]);` is ~50-150 times faster than array_shift().
   Calling array_reverse() and using array_pop() is ~2000-5000 times faster.

If you agree this would be an useful addition I will create a patch.

-- Jille