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If we want to extract a value
from the associative array, we reference it with the
following syntax:
$variable_equal_to_value =
$ASSOCIATIVE_ARRAY_NAME{'[key]'};
Thus, to pull out the value of
the "full_name" key from %CLIENT_ARRAY, we use the
following syntax:
$full_name = $CLIENT_ARRAY{'full_name'}
The variable $full_name would
then be equal to "Selena Sol". Think of it as using a
"key" to unlock a "value".
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When accessing
an associative array using a
scalar variable as a key, you should not surround the
key with single quotes because the scalar variable
will not be interpolated. For example, the following
syntax generates the value for the age key.
$key_name = "age";
$age = $CLIENT_ARRAY{$key_name};
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Accessing an associative array is one of the most basic
CGI functions and is at the heart of the ReadParse
routine in cgi-lib.pl that creates an associative array
from the incoming form data. We will talk more about
ReadParse later today.
By accessing this
associative array (usually referred to as %in
or %form_data), your CGI script will be able to
determine what it is that the client has asked of it since
HTML form variables are formed in terms of
administratively-defined NAMES and client-defined
VALUES using syntax such as the following:
<INPUT TYPE = "text" NAME = "full_name"
SIZE = "40">
The "key" of the associative array generated by
ReadParse will be "full_name" and the "value" will be
whatever the client typed into the text box.
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