Parse error on explode('-','foo-bar')[0] (for instance)

Question

Why doesn't php support this syntax:

$s = explode('-', 'foo-bar')[0];

?

Answer 1

It's a limitation in the PHP parser. There's no reason why it can't support this form of reduction, it just doesn't.

Answer 2

You can write it using list:

list($first_value) = explode(‘-’,‘foo-bar’);