WDS 7
PHP Arrays
The simplest difintion of an array is a variable that contains multiple values. Each value that is thown into the array will be assigned a number or an index by PHP so that you can recall it. This is extremely convenient in a massive website because you only need to change the value in one place if you know the indicies in you array. You do not need to have numbers be the assigning value. You can use stings as indicies to associate the value to the array. This is called an associative array. The best way to be anble to demonstrate how an array works is to show you how the code works.
First thing, create an array.
$name = array("Indiana Jones", "Chuck Norris, "John McClane")
Now all you have to do is add the variables in a sentance.
echo $name[2] . "is probably tougher than" . $name[0] . "but not tougher than" . $name[1];
This is the output that you will get: "John McClane is probably tougher than Indiana Jones but not tougher than Chuck Norris"
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Some things to consider:
- PHP starts assinging the indicies at 0 and not 1
- The periods in between code and the sentance fragments are called concatenation operators, which we have discussed before, that tie the two text stings together.
- Remember that the beginning of any block of PHP starts with ?php and end with ? within a set of brackets
Now that was an extreamly simple example of how an array works but you see the convenience that would have if you had similar code through hundreds of pages. This next examples with associative arrays will really illustrate the power of convenience. Lets say your a Web Specialist for REI and you have to update the specs on the leading sleeping bags in the industry.
$sleepingbags['Kelty'] = "bellow 0°";
$sleepingbags['Coleman'] = "5 degree, insulated bag";
$sleepingbags['Colombia'] = "waterproof mummy bag";
echo "Kelty is the main seller in sleeping bags because of its" . $sleepingbags['Kelty'] . temperature;
So the output you will get on the product page or on any page where you call the sleeping bag array associated to Kelty will be: "Kelty is the main seller in sleeping bags because of its bellow 0° temperature".
Do you see what I mean now? This is just some very simple ways to understand arrays and how they work. On PHP Motors array are used in the process of catching errors found filling out forms on our Contact page and other pages. In these instances we have left the array empty.
