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I'd just come across a very weird bit of php code:

$oink{'pig'} = 1;
var_dump($oink);

$oink{'pig'} = '123123';
echo $oink{'pig'}; /* => 123123 */
echo $oink['pig']; /* => 123123 */

It works like an array, but nowhere mentioned in the manual. What is this?

2

5 Answers 5

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Answer recommended by PHP Collective

It is mentioned in the manual. {} is just an alternative syntax to [] § Accessing array elements with square bracket syntax. This method is deprecated as of PHP 7.4.0 and no longer supported as of PHP 8.0.0.

Note:

Prior to PHP 8.0.0, square brackets and curly braces could be used interchangeably for accessing array elements (e.g. $array[42] and $array{42} would both do the same thing in the example above). The curly brace syntax was deprecated as of PHP 7.4.0 and no longer supported as of PHP 8.0.0.

The same goes the strings § String access and modification by character :

Characters within strings may be accessed and modified by specifying the zero-based offset of the desired character after the string using square array brackets, as in $str[42]. Think of a string as an array of characters for this purpose. [...]

Note: Prior to PHP 8.0.0, strings could also be accessed using braces, as in $str{42}, for the same purpose. This curly brace syntax was deprecated as of PHP 7.4.0 and no longer supported as of PHP 8.0.0.

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5 Comments

A bazillions year late, but just to note that you can do $array[] to push, but you can't do $array{}
@Vertig0, Yepp, interchangeable-ness is "for accessing array elements".
Worth noting that curly braces for string offset / array access is deprecated as of PHP 7.4: Array and string offset access syntax with curly braces is deprecated
@SpongeBobPHPPants I like it that they clean the mess.
Worth noting that curly braces for string offset / array access is deprecated as of PHP 7.4: Array and string offset access syntax with curly braces is deprecated AND REMOVED IN PHP 8.0
5

According to this comment on the documentation, it is just another notation, probably designed to resemble the Perl syntax: http://www.php.net/manual/de/language.types.array.php#99015

Update: When this answer was originally posted, the PHP manual did not have any official information on this notation. By 2014, however, the comment referenced above had been removed and, as Pacerier's answer says, the notation has been given official mention in the manual.

Comments

5

Curly braces as of PHP 7.4 are deprecated for accessing arrays.

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/deprecate_curly_braces_array_access

Comments

4

It is mentioned in the manual, but it's obscure:

http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.types.string.php#language.types.string.substr

In a nutshell, the curly braces access only a single character (try adding a full string and you'll see it returns only the first character). It is also deprecated, so I would avoid it's use.

2 Comments

Accessing a string as an array yields a character. There, too, you can use curly braces and brackets interchangeably.
This helped now when deprecated warnings started to emerge for accessing arrays in PHP 7.4. I just needed to replace $xyz[0]{0} with substr($xyz[0],0,1). So simple when you get it, but very frustrating until you get it... Thanks.
0

Array and string offset access using curly braces is officially deprecated from PHP7.4 Ref: https://www.php.net/manual/en/migration74.deprecated.php

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