Syntax of array_pad
array array_pad(array input, int size[, mixed padding])
Returns a copy of the input array padded to the length specified by size. Any new elements added to the array have the value of the optional third value. You can add elements to the beginning of the array by specifying a negative size—in this case, the new size of the array is the absolute value of the size
If the array already has the specified number of elements or more, no padding takes place and an exact copy of the original array is returned
<?php
$input = array(12, 10, 9);
$result = array_pad($input, 5, 0);
// result is array(12, 10, 9, 0, 0)
$result = array_pad($input, -7, -1);
// result is array(-1, -1, -1, -1, 12, 10, 9)
$result = array_pad($input, 2, "noop");
// not padded
?>