How can PHP arrays be effectively utilized in encryption processes like Vignère encryption?

To effectively utilize PHP arrays in encryption processes like Vigenère encryption, you can use arrays to store the mapping between characters and their corresponding numerical values. This can simplify the encryption and decryption processes by allowing you to easily access and manipulate the values associated with each character.

<?php
// Define a mapping array for characters to numerical values
$charMap = array(
    'A' => 0, 'B' => 1, 'C' => 2, 'D' => 3, 'E' => 4,
    'F' => 5, 'G' => 6, 'H' => 7, 'I' => 8, 'J' => 9,
    'K' => 10, 'L' => 11, 'M' => 12, 'N' => 13, 'O' => 14,
    'P' => 15, 'Q' => 16, 'R' => 17, 'S' => 18, 'T' => 19,
    'U' => 20, 'V' => 21, 'W' => 22, 'X' => 23, 'Y' => 24,
    'Z' => 25
);

// Define a reverse mapping array for numerical values to characters
$reverseCharMap = array_flip($charMap);

// Example usage of the arrays
$char = 'A';
$numValue = $charMap[$char];
echo "Numeric value of $char is $numValue\n";

$num = 25;
$charValue = $reverseCharMap[$num];
echo "Character value of $num is $charValue\n";
?>