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phparraysnull

Arrays with NULL keys

PHP trivia here.

If we declare an array like this:

<?php $arr = [ 'foo' => 'bar', NULL => 'hello' ]; ?>

We can access it like this

print $arr[NULL];

This will print hello. Why is this useful, relevant or necessary? Is it a PHP bug or a feature?

My only idea was that you could declare array with the NULL key being equal to an error message to explain to anyone who uses a NULL key that their key is null:

$arr[NULL] = 'Warning you have used a null key, did you mean to?';

Has anyone found this useful? Seems to be something to cause more harm than good.

Solution

  • Quote from the manual:

    Null will be cast to the empty string, i.e. the key null will actually be stored under "".

    Additional details about how keys are cast are as follows:

    The key can either be an int or a string. The value can be of any type.

    Additionally the following key casts will occur:

    • Strings containing valid decimal ints, unless the number is preceded by a + sign, will be cast to the int type. E.g. the key "8" will actually be stored under 8. On the other hand "08" will not be cast, as it isn't a valid decimal integer.
    • Floats are also cast to ints, which means that the fractional part will be truncated. E.g. the key 8.7 will actually be stored under 8.
    • Bools are cast to ints, too, i.e. the key true will actually be stored under 1 and the key false under 0.
    • Null will be cast to the empty string, i.e. the key null will actually be stored under "".
    • Arrays and objects can not be used as keys. Doing so will result in a warning: Illegal offset type.

    As for this being useful or necessary, this is debatable. You are asked to use integer or string keys and you have been warned about implicit key casting.