Array Basics in PHP
From the PHP cheat sheet · Arrays · verified Jul 2026
Array Basics
Creating and accessing arrays
php
// Indexed array
$numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
$colors = array('red', 'green', 'blue');
// Associative array
$person = [
'name' => 'John',
'age' => 30,
'email' => 'john@example.com'
];
// Multidimensional array
$matrix = [
[1, 2, 3],
[4, 5, 6],
[7, 8, 9]
];
// Accessing elements
echo $numbers[0]; // 1
echo $person['name']; // John
echo $matrix[1][2]; // 6💡 Use [] syntax for arrays (modern PHP)
⚡ Spread operator (...) unpacks arrays
📌 array_key_exists vs isset: isset returns false for null
🔥 Destructuring makes code cleaner