Associative Arrays

Associative arrays (also known as Maps or Dictionaries) store data in key-value pairs. In Strata, these are implemented using the native Array type, which functions as an ordered map.

Declaration

You can declare an associative array using the map syntax [key => value]:

let user = [
    "name" => "Luna",
    "role" => "admin"
];

Type Annotation

Strata currently represents associative arrays as Array<T>, where T is the value type. The keys are assumed to be String or Int.

// explicit type for values
let scores: Array<Int> = [
    "player1" => 100,
    "player2" => 200
];

Accessing Values

Access values using the bracket notation array[key]:

let score = scores["player1"];
print(score); // 100

Modifying Values

You can assign new values to existing keys or add new keys:

// update existing
scores["player1"] = 150;

// add new
scores["player3"] = 50;

Checking Keys

Use the isset keyword or check against Null.

if isset(scores["player1"]) {
    // key exists and is not null
}

Iteration

You can iterate over keys and values using for:

for key, value in scores {
    print("${key}: ${value}");
}

Shapes

For data structures with fixed keys and known types, prefer Shapes (anonymous structs) over associative arrays:

type User = {
    name: String,
    age: Int
};

let user = User(name: "Luna", age: 6);
print(user.name);