Cross Ref > Data Structures

Declare associative array with initial known values. You can also add to associative array. (You can just assign values without ever declaring it too!)

$prices = array( 'Tires'=>100, 'Spark Plugs'=>4 );
$prices['Oil'] = 10;

echo "Tires=" . $prices['Tires'] . "<br>";
echo "Oil=" . $prices['Oil'] . "<br>";

 PHP Associative Array

Although pointer data types in Prism coding are less important than in other languages such as C++, Prism does support developer defined pointers. Use the ^ operator to declare a pointer data type. Use the @ operator to return the current address of a variable.

In .Net managed coding the use of pointers is not safe because the garbage collector may move memory around. To safely use pointers, use the unsafe keyword. However, avoid unsafe code if possible.

PHP supports references which allow you to refer to the value of a variable but PHP does not support true developer defined pointers. You cannot get and use the address of a variable.

However, you can still do inexpensive assignments by assigning by reference.