What are the advantages of using associative arrays in PHP for data management compared to numerical arrays?

Associative arrays in PHP allow for data to be stored and accessed using specific keys instead of numerical indexes. This makes it easier to organize and retrieve data based on meaningful identifiers rather than arbitrary numbers. Associative arrays are particularly useful when working with structured data such as key-value pairs, making data management more intuitive and efficient compared to numerical arrays. 

// Example of using associative arrays for data management
$data = array(
    'name' => 'John Doe',
    'age' => 30,
    'email' => 'john.doe@example.com'
);

// Accessing data using keys
echo $data['name']; // Output: John Doe
echo $data['age']; // Output: 30
echo $data['email']; // Output: john.doe@example.com

Keywords

associative arrays numerical arrays data management PHP advantages

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