readme.md

Simple benchmark checking access speeds in arrays defined in different ways. Don't ask why I made it, 'cause I can't find an explanation either ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I ran it a few times, and I don't even know why I bothered. Access times are negligibly and inconsistently different. And even when they are, it's in the ballpark of tenths of a nanosecond.

access_methods.php

<?php
define('DEF', [
  'key' => 'value',
  'complex' => [
    'key' => 'value',
    'complex' => [
        'key' => 'value'
    ]
  ]
]);

const CST = [
  'key' => 'value',
  'complex' => [
    'key' => 'value',
    'complex' => [
        'key' => 'value'
    ]
  ]
];

$arr = [
  'key' => 'value',
  'complex' => [
    'key' => 'value',
    'complex' => [
        'key' => 'value'
    ]
  ]
];

$score = [
            'define' => 0,
            'constant' => 0,
            'array' => 0,
         ];

for ($i = 0; $i < 100; $i++) {
    
    $ds = microtime(true);
    echo DEF['complex']['complex']['key'];
    $de = microtime(true);
    
    $cs = microtime(true);
    echo CST['complex']['complex']['key'];
    $ce = microtime(true);
    
    $as = microtime(true);
    echo $arr['complex']['complex']['key'];
    $ae = microtime(true);
    
    echo PHP_EOL;

    $res = [
        'define' => $de-$ds,
        'constant' => $ce-$cs,
        'array' => $ae-$as,
    ];
    
    echo json_encode($res, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT);
    
    $maxs = array_keys($res, min($res));
    
    foreach ($maxs as $m) {
        $score[$m] += 1;
    }
}

echo PHP_EOL.'RESULTS'.PHP_EOL;
echo json_encode($score, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT);