Arrays and Data Structures in PHP

Indexed arrays are the most basic type of arrays in PHP, where values are stored and accessed using numeric indices. Let’s create a simple indexed array to hold a list of fruits:

<?php
$fruits = array(“Apple”, “Banana”, “Orange”, “Mango”);
echo $fruits[2]; // Output: Orange
?>

Associative arrays use key-value pairs, allowing developers to access data using meaningful keys. They are ideal for scenarios where data needs to be associated with specific labels. Let’s see an example of an associative array representing a student’s information:

<?php
$student = array(
“name” => “Alice”,
“age” => 20,
“major” => “Computer Science”
);
echo $student[“name”]; // Output: Alice
?>

Multi-dimensional arrays are arrays within arrays, providing a way to store complex data structures. For instance, consider a 2D array to represent a simple tic-tac-toe board:

<?php
$board = array(
array(“X”, “O”, “X”),
array(“O”, “X”, “O”),
array(“X”, “O”, “O”)
);
echo $board[1][2]; // Output: O
?>

PHP offers an array of built-in functions to manipulate arrays effectively. Two essential array functions are sorting and searching.