Add 2 values to 1 key in a PHP array

Question

I have a result set of data that I want to write to an array in php. Here is my sample data:

**Name** **Abbrev**
Mike     M
Tom      T
Jim      J

Answer 1

php arrays work like hash lookup tables, so in order to achieve the desired result, you can initialize 2 keys, one with the actual value and the other one with a reference pointing to the first. For instance you could do:

$a = array('m' => 'value');
$a['mike'] = &$a['m']; //notice the end to pass by reference

if you try:

$a = array('m' => 'value');
$a['mike'] = &$a['m'];

print_r($a);

$a['m'] = 'new_value';
print_r($a);

$a['mike'] = 'new_value_2';
print_r($a);

the output will be:

Array
(
    [m] => value
    [mike] => value
)
Array
(
    [m] => new_value
    [mike] => new_value
)
Array
(
    [m] => new_value_2
    [mike] => new_value_2
)