Array merge and combine in PHP - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Array merge and combine

📖 Scenario: You are organizing a small event and have two lists: one with guest names and another with their favorite drinks. You want to create a combined list that pairs each guest with their favorite drink.

🎯 Goal: Build a PHP script that merges two arrays into one associative array where each guest's name is linked to their favorite drink.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create two arrays with exact values for guests and drinks

Create a variable to hold the combined array

Use the array_combine function to merge the two arrays

Print the combined array using print_r

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Combining related lists like names and preferences is common in event planning, surveys, and data organization.

💼 Career

Understanding how to merge arrays is useful for backend developers managing user data, preferences, or configuration settings.

1

Create the guests and drinks arrays

Create an array called $guests with these exact values: 'Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'. Also create an array called $drinks with these exact values: 'Coffee', 'Tea', 'Juice'.

PHP

<?php
// Create the $guests array with 'Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'
// Create the $drinks array with 'Coffee', 'Tea', 'Juice'

Need a hint?

Use square brackets [] to create arrays in PHP.

2

Create a variable for the combined array

Create a variable called $guest_drinks and set it to null for now.

PHP

<?php
$guests = ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'];
$drinks = ['Coffee', 'Tea', 'Juice'];
// Create $guest_drinks variable and set it to null

Need a hint?

Initialize the variable with null before assigning the combined array.

3

Combine the guests and drinks arrays

Use the array_combine function to combine $guests and $drinks into $guest_drinks.

PHP

<?php
$guests = ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'];
$drinks = ['Coffee', 'Tea', 'Juice'];
$guest_drinks = null;
// Combine $guests and $drinks into $guest_drinks

Need a hint?

The array_combine function takes two arrays: keys and values.

4

Print the combined array

Print the $guest_drinks array using print_r to show the combined list.

PHP

<?php
$guests = ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'];
$drinks = ['Coffee', 'Tea', 'Juice'];
$guest_drinks = null;
$guest_drinks = array_combine($guests, $drinks);
// Print the $guest_drinks array

Need a hint?

Use print_r($guest_drinks); to display the array in a readable format.