Can you have an array as one value within an array?

Question

Is there any way to display an array as a value of one array value only.

For example,

Array:
[1] = some value
[2] = an array of values
[3] = some value

$main_array = array(
    [] => 11,
    [] => 22,
    [] => $sub_array = array([] => a, [] => b, [] => c,);
    [] => 44,
);
var_dump($main_array);

Returns parse error -> this part is invalid:

[] => $sub_array = array([] => a, [] => b, [] => c,);

Okay, good luck with that, now what is your question for us? — Epodax
– Epodax, Commented Oct 5, 2017 at 11:30
If I make an array and try to assign multiple values to one of the values it errors out... is there another way to achieve this? — Jeff Sayers
– Jeff Sayers, Commented Oct 5, 2017 at 11:35

Ethan · Accepted Answer · 2017-10-07 12:56:22Z

0

Your code to declare the $main_array array is riddled with syntax errors:

You can't use an array of any kind as a key in an associative array. PHP: Can an array have an array as a key in a key-value pair?
The $sub_array inside $main_array needs to use quotes around string values like this: ['a', 'b', 'c'].
You absolutely can't separate elements of an array with a semicolon ; Use a comma ,

A multidimensional array is an array containing one or more arrays.

So, to write your array in that format:

$main_array = [
    11,
    22,
    [
        'a',
        'b',
        'c',
    ],
    44,
];

answered Oct 7, 2017 at 12:56

Ethan

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