when is an associative array best used in php code example

Example 1: Associative array in php

<?php 
/* 
There are 3 Types of array in php  
1. Indexed arrays - Arrays with a numeric index
2. Associative arrays - Arrays with named keys
3. Multidimensional arrays - Arrays containing one or more arrays

This is the second one - Associative arrays
*/

$age = array("Samy"=>"35", "Naveen"=>"37", "Amit"=>"43");
echo "Mr.Samy is " . $age['Samy'] . " years old.";

?>

Example 2: associative array in php

$age = array("Peter""35", "Ben""37", "Joe""43");