What are the best practices for avoiding fatal errors when using object types as array indices in PHP?

Using object types as array indices in PHP can lead to fatal errors due to the way PHP handles object comparisons and conversions. To avoid this issue, it is recommended to use object hashing to generate unique keys for objects when using them as array indices. This ensures that each object is represented by a distinct key in the array. 

<?php

// Create a function to generate a unique key for objects
function getObjectKey($object) {
    return spl_object_hash($object);
}

// Create an empty array to store objects
$objectArray = [];

// Create an object
$object1 = new stdClass();

// Generate a unique key for the object
$key1 = getObjectKey($object1);

// Use the unique key as the array index
$objectArray[$key1] = "Value for object1";

// Access the value using the object as the key
echo $objectArray[getObjectKey($object1)];

?>

Keywords

object types array indices fatal errors PHP type casting

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