Associative array: Difference between revisions

Associative arrays are used as the underlying data structure for objects in a number of languages. Python objects normally have a visible <tt>__dict__</tt> attribute by which its methods and other attributes can be accessed indirectly. PHP objects can be cast into associative arrays, and vice versa, with the keys and values corresponding to property names and values of the object. Perl objects are references of (usually) hashes. And (as described above) Lua objects are implemented as tables (functions and other objects are “first class objects” which an be assigned to keys and passed around as arguments, as with Python). Similarly, in JavaScript the concepts of associative array and object are the same, since JavaScript lacks a separate "associative array" type, and object attributes can be accessed using subscript operator with the attribute name as a string.

 

==References==

* Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, http://foldoc.org/, Editor Denis Howe