How to Initialize a Set in PHP - Step by Step Examples

How to Initialize a Set in PHP ?

To initialize a set in PHP, you can use an associative array or the SplObjectStorage class.

In this example,

We use an associative array, which is a key-value pair data structure in PHP, to represent a set.
We declare a variable named $set1 and assign it an empty array [].
The empty array represents an empty set.
We then print the $set1 using the var_dump function to verify its contents.

<?php
$set1 = [];
var_dump($set1);
?>

array(0) {
}

In this example,

We use an associative array to represent a set and initialize it with elements.
We declare a variable named $set2 and assign it an array containing elements, such as 'apple', 'banana', and 'cherry'.
We then print the $set2 using the var_dump function to verify its contents.

<?php
$set2 = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry'];
var_dump($set2);
?>

array(3) {
  [0]=>
  string(5) "apple"
  [1]=>
  string(6) "banana"
  [2]=>
  string(6) "cherry"
}

In this example,

We use the SplObjectStorage class, which is a built-in class in PHP that allows you to create a collection of objects, behaving similarly to a set.
We create an instance of the SplObjectStorage class by calling its constructor with no arguments.
We declare a variable named $set3 and assign it the result of calling the new SplObjectStorage() constructor.
The new SplObjectStorage() constructor creates an empty set-like storage.
We then print the $set3 using the var_dump function to verify its contents.

<?php
$set3 = new SplObjectStorage();
var_dump($set3);
?>

object(SplObjectStorage)#1 (0) {
}

In this tutorial, we learned How to Initialize a Set in PHP language with well detailed examples.