Associative arrays are collections of key=>value pairs. The key in an associative array must be either a string or an integer. The values held can be any type. We use the => operator to associate a key with its value. We can think of keys as pointing to their values since the key points the computer to the space in memory where the value is stored.

$my_array = ["panda" => "very cute", "lizard" => "cute", "cockroach" => "not very cute"];

In the code above, we created an associative array using short array syntax. $my_array has three key=>value pairs:

• The key "panda" points to the value "very cute".
• The key "lizard" points to the value "cute".
• The key "cockroach" points to the value "not very cute".

We can also build associative arrays using the PHP array() function.

$about_me = array(
    "fullname" => "Aisle Nevertell",
    "social" => 123456789
);

In the code above, we created an associative array, $about_me, with two key=>value pairs:

• The key "fullname" points to the value "Aisle Nevertell".
• The key "social" points to the value 123456789.

Let’s make some arrays!