What do the array equal operator (==) check in PHP?

The array equal operator (==) in PHP is designed to check whether two arrays are equal in terms of both key and value. When using this operator, PHP compares the arrays to see if they have the same elements with the same keys. The comparison is done without regard to the order of the elements, but it does require that each key in one array is present in the other array with the same corresponding value.

For example, if you have two arrays, one is ['a' => 1, 'b' => 2] and the other is ['b' => 2, 'a' => 1], using the array equal operator between these two would evaluate to true because they contain the same keys and values, even though the order is different.

The other options do not accurately describe the behavior of the array equal operator. While one option suggests checking if two arrays refer to the same memory location, that actually pertains to the identity operator (===). Another option implies that the comparison is solely about the same values regardless of order, but this fails to mention the need for matching keys. Lastly, checking just the number of elements does not encompass the full aspect of what the array equal operator evaluates, as