'PHP Difference between array() and []

I'm writing a PHP app and I want to make sure it will work with no errors.

The original code:

<?php
$data = array('name' => 'test',
              'id'   => 'theID');

echo form_input($data);
?>

Would the following work with no errors or is not recommended for some reason?

<?= form_input(['name' => 'test', 'id' => 'theID']); ?>

Are there any difference?

I've looked again the data about array() and the short array method with square brackets [] in PHP.net but I'm not sure.

And also, is the short php tag <?= ?> fine for echoing? Is there any version issue? (provided is enabled in php.ini)

phparrayssyntaxsquare-bracket


Solution 1:[1]

Following [] is supported in PHP >= 5.4:

['name' => 'test', 'id' => 'theID']

This is a short syntax only and in PHP < 5.4 it won't work.

Solution 2:[2]

As of 2022, it has been 10 years since the [] syntax was added. That is long enough to drop array() except in old legacy programs, in my opinion.

Solution 3:[3]

If you are using 5.3 or previous version then you can't use [] as an array as well as associative array. If you are using 5.4 or later version of PHP then you can use either array() or [] to create an array, associative array or even multidimensional array.

Solution 4:[4]

And regarding the <?= ?> part of the question: it is largely not frowned upon, at least not in 2019.

  1. A good technical breakdown: https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/151661/is-it-bad-practice-to-use-tag-in-php
  2. A note in PSR-1: Files MUST use only <?php and <?= tags.
  3. TL;DR: There is no reason you cannot or should not use it.

Sources

This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Overflow and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Source: Stack Overflow

Solution Source
Solution 1 Déjà vu
Solution 2 Movahhedi
Solution 3 codeepic
Solution 4 Aydin4ik

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