PHP - Multi-dimensional Arrays
Multi-dimensional array can be viewed as arrays of arrays. In a multi-dimensional array, each element can also be an array. PHP allows you to define multi-dimensional arrays. The following syntax can be used to create a multi-dimensional array.
Syntax
//2-dimensional array
$MyArray = array(array(...),
array(...),
...,
array(...));
Please note that, [] can also be used instead of array().
Two-Dimensional Arrays
The simplest form of the multi-dimensional array is a two-dimensional array. The below mention array shows a simple form of an associative multi-dimensional array. A multi-dimensional numeric array or mixed array can be created in the similar fashion.
$MyArray = array(
'John' => array(
'age' => 25,
'city' => 'London'
),
'Marry' => array(
'age' => 23,
'city' => 'Paris'
)
);
Values in the multi-dimensional array are accessed using multiple index. Consider the example below which demonstrates how to create, initialize and access elements of a multi-dimensional array.
<?php
//creating a 2-D array
$MyArray = array(
'John' => array(
'age' => 25,
'city' => 'London',
),
'Marry' => array(
'age' => 23,
'city' => 'Paris',
)
);
//adding one more element in the array
$MyArray['Ramesh'] = array(
'age' => 27,
'city' => 'Mumbai',
);
//displaying the array
print_r($MyArray);
//accessing elements of the array
echo "John is ".$MyArray['John']['age'].
" years old and lives in ".
$MyArray['John']['city'].".";
?>
The output of the above code will be:
Array
(
[John] => Array
(
[age] => 25
[city] => London
)
[Marry] => Array
(
[age] => 23
[city] => Paris
)
[Ramesh] => Array
(
[age] => 27
[city] => Mumbai
)
)
John is 25 years old and lives in London.
Complete PHP Array Reference
For a complete reference of all PHP Array functions, see the complete PHP Arrays Reference.
