How can you merge two associative, multidimensional arrays in PHP, with one array serving as the standard and the other as the individual data?

To merge two associative, multidimensional arrays in PHP where one array serves as the standard structure and the other contains individual data, you can use the array_replace_recursive function. This function replaces the values of the first array with the values from the second array, recursively merging if the values are arrays themselves. This allows you to combine the standard structure with individual data while preserving the original structure. 

$standardArray = [
    'key1' => 'value1',
    'key2' => [
        'subkey1' => 'subvalue1',
        'subkey2' => 'subvalue2'
    ]
];

$individualDataArray = [
    'key2' => [
        'subkey1' => 'updatedSubvalue1'
    ],
    'key3' => 'value3'
];

$mergedArray = array_replace_recursive($standardArray, $individualDataArray);

print_r($mergedArray);

Keywords

PHP array_merge_recursive associative arrays multidimensional arrays merging data

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