What are the advantages and disadvantages of using associative arrays in PHP?

Associative arrays in PHP allow for storing key-value pairs, making it easier to access and manipulate data. However, they can be slower than indexed arrays when dealing with a large amount of data. Additionally, associative arrays can be more memory-intensive compared to indexed arrays. 

// Example of using an associative array in PHP
$student = array(
    'name' => 'John Doe',
    'age' => 20,
    'grade' => 'A'
);

// Accessing values from the associative array
echo $student['name']; // Output: John Doe
echo $student['age']; // Output: 20
echo $student['grade']; // Output: A

Keywords

associative arrays PHP advantages disadvantages data structure

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