What are the advantages of using objects over arrays in PHP, especially when dealing with complex data structures?

When dealing with complex data structures, using objects in PHP provides several advantages over arrays. Objects allow for better organization and encapsulation of data and behavior, making it easier to manage and manipulate complex data. Additionally, objects support inheritance and polymorphism, enabling code reuse and promoting a more modular and maintainable codebase. Objects also provide type hinting and method visibility control, improving code reliability and readability.

// Example code demonstrating the advantages of using objects over arrays in PHP

// Define a class to represent a person with properties and methods
class Person {
    private $name;
    private $age;

    public function __construct($name, $age) {
        $this->name = $name;
        $this->age = $age;
    }

    public function getName() {
        return $this->name;
    }

    public function getAge() {
        return $this->age;
    }
}

// Create an instance of the Person class
$person = new Person("John Doe", 30);

// Access and manipulate data using object properties and methods
echo $person->getName(); // Output: John Doe
echo $person->getAge(); // Output: 30