Can I make an array of tuples? Is there a better way?

Pretty new to php so sorry if this is an obvious question.

I want to create an array that contains a tuple, i.e. a pair of
values.

e.g. myarray[$key] = ($firstname,$lastname)

I would then need a function that returns only the first or second
member of the tuple.

The tuple could also be a list, provided there's a function for only
returning the value at a particular index value of the list.

I am sure there is an obvious way to accomplish the same thing in php
(without using a multi-dimensional array) but it is escaping me at the
moment.

Ben

Re: Can I make an array of tuples? Is there a better way?

ben@spam.com wrote:
> Pretty new to php so sorry if this is an obvious question.
>
> I want to create an array that contains a tuple, i.e. a pair of
> values.
>
> e.g. myarray[$key] = ($firstname,$lastname)
>
> I would then need a function that returns only the first or second
> member of the tuple.
>
> The tuple could also be a list, provided there's a function for only
> returning the value at a particular index value of the list.
>
> I am sure there is an obvious way to accomplish the same thing in php
> (without using a multi-dimensional array) but it is escaping me at the
> moment.
>
> Ben
>

Two choices:
1. Multidimensional array
2. An array of objects

--
==================
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Jerry Stuckle
JDS Computer Training Corp.
jstucklex@attglobal.net
==================

Re: Can I make an array of tuples? Is there a better way?

ben@spam.com wrote:
> Pretty new to php so sorry if this is an obvious question.
>
> I want to create an array that contains a tuple, i.e. a pair of
> values.
>
> e.g. myarray[$key] = ($firstname,$lastname)
>
> I would then need a function that returns only the first or second
> member of the tuple.
>
> The tuple could also be a list, provided there's a function for only
> returning the value at a particular index value of the list.
>
> I am sure there is an obvious way to accomplish the same thing in php
> (without using a multi-dimensional array) but it is escaping me at the
> moment.
No, (if only we had Python) you have to use a multi-dimensional array:
myarray[$key] = array($firstname, $lastname);
function getFirstName(name) {
return name[0];
}
function getLastName(name) {
return name[1];
}
>
> Ben

Re: Can I make an array of tuples? Is there a better way?

ben@spam.com wrote:

> I want to create an array that contains a tuple, i.e. a pair of
> values.

PHP doesn't have a tuple data type: arrays are typically used instead. So
an array of tuples would be represented as an array or arrays.

I get the impression that you're trying to avoid an array of arrays. Why
is that?

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