Why is array_key_exists 1000x slower than isset on referenced arrays?

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I have found that array_key_exists is over 1000x slower than isset at check if a key is set in an array reference. Does anyone that has an understanding of how PHP is implemented explain why this is true?

EDIT: I've added another case that seems to point to it being overhead required in calling functions with a reference.

Benchmark Example

function isset_( $key, array $array )
{
    return isset( $array[$key] );
}

$my_array = array();
$start = microtime( TRUE );
for( $i = 1; $i < 10000; $i++ ) {
    array_key_exists( $i, $my_array );
    $my_array[$i] = 0;
}
$stop = microtime( TRUE );
print "array_key_exists( \$my_array ) ".($stop-$start).PHP_EOL;
unset( $my_array, $my_array_ref, $start, $stop, $i );

$my_array = array();
$start = microtime( TRUE );
for( $i = 1; $i < 10000; $i++ ) {
    isset( $my_array[$i] );
    $my_array[$i] = 0;
}
$stop = microtime( TRUE );
print "isset( \$my_array ) ".($stop-$start).PHP_EOL;
unset( $my_array, $my_array_ref, $start, $stop, $i );

$my_array = array();
$start = microtime( TRUE );
for( $i = 1; $i < 10000; $i++ ) {
    isset_( $i, $my_array );
    $my_array[$i] = 0;
}
$stop = microtime( TRUE );
print "isset_( \$my_array ) ".($stop-$start).PHP_EOL;
unset( $my_array, $my_array_ref, $start, $stop, $i );

$my_array = array();
$my_array_ref = &$my_array;
$start = microtime( TRUE );
for( $i = 1; $i < 10000; $i++ ) {
    array_key_exists( $i, $my_array_ref );
    $my_array_ref[$i] = 0;
}
$stop = microtime( TRUE );
print "array_key_exists( \$my_array_ref ) ".($stop-$start).PHP_EOL;
unset( $my_array, $my_array_ref, $start, $stop, $i );

$my_array = array();
$my_array_ref = &$my_array;
$start = microtime( TRUE );
for( $i = 1; $i < 10000; $i++ ) {
    isset( $my_array_ref[$i] );
    $my_array_ref[$i] = 0;
}
$stop = microtime( TRUE );
print "isset( \$my_array_ref ) ".($stop-$start).PHP_EOL;
unset( $my_array, $my_array_ref, $start, $stop, $i );

$my_array = array();
$my_array_ref = &$my_array;
$start = microtime( TRUE );
for( $i = 1; $i < 10000; $i++ ) {
    isset_( $i, $my_array_ref );
    $my_array_ref[$i] = 0;
}
$stop = microtime( TRUE );
print "isset_( \$my_array_ref ) ".($stop-$start).PHP_EOL;
unset( $my_array, $my_array_ref, $start, $stop, $i );

Output

array_key_exists( $my_array ) 0.0056459903717
isset( $my_array ) 0.00234198570251
isset_( $my_array ) 0.00539588928223
array_key_exists( $my_array_ref ) 3.64232587814 // <~ what on earth?
isset( $my_array_ref ) 0.00222992897034
isset_( $my_array_ref ) 4.12856411934 // <~ what on earth?

I'm on PHP 5.3.6.

Codepad example.

array-key-exists isset reference php performance
4 Answers

Since PHP >= 7.4 array_key_exists is now as fast as isset.

See https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.array-key-exists.php#125313

And some perfomance tests:

<?php declare(strict_types = 1);

function testPerformance($name, Closure $closure, $runs = 1000000)
{
    $start = microtime(true);
    for (; $runs > 0; $runs--)
    {
        $closure();
    }
    $end = microtime(true);

    printf("Function call %s took %.5f seconds\n", $name, $end - $start);
}

$items = [1111111];
for ($i = 0; $i < 100000; $i++) {
    $items[] = rand(0, 1000000);
}
$items = array_unique($items);
shuffle($items);

$assocItems = array_combine($items, array_fill(0, count($items), true));

$isset = function () use ($assocItems) {
    isset($items[1111111]);
};

$array_key_exists = function () use ($assocItems) {
    array_key_exists(1111111, $assocItems);
};

testPerformance('isset', $isset, 100000);
testPerformance('array_key_exists', $array_key_exists, 100000);

Output:

Function call isset took 0.00561 seconds
Function call array_key_exists took 0.00547 seconds
user_98004710
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