Get value of dynamic sub-array, in multidimensional array - php

Question

Not sure if my question is clear, but here's what I'm trying to achieve. Let’s say I have a multidimensional array like so:
$arr['client1']**['dog']['Jack']**
$arr['client2']['cat']['Stacy']
How can I get the second portion of the array (between **), knowing it can be anything. For client 3, it could be a crocodile. For Client 4, it could be a car.
So I'm looking to "build" the structure of the array, dynamically. Something like so:
$arr['client1']{partBetweenThe**InTheExemple}
{partBetweenThe**InTheExemple} would be constructed "on the fly" (hence, the dynamically).
EDIT: Hopefully some clarifications...
The array changes every time. Basically, I'm building an addon to poll any API on the web. The data structure I'm getting can be anything. So what I need to do is build the key combination "on the fly", with variables.
In the exemple above, my variable would be something like $query = ['dog']['Jack'] and to get the value, I would poll it like so (from a logistic perspective, I know this doesn't work):
$arr['client1'][$query] or $arr['client1']$query or $arr['client1']{$query}

Answer 1

You can define the query as an array with each level as an element. Then we can iterate through that and check if we find a matching key in the response:
function findInArray(array $query, array $data)
{
foreach ($query as $key) {
if (!array_key_exists($key, $data)) {
// The key was not found, abort and return null
return null;
}
// Since the key was found, move to next level
$data =& $data[$key];
}
return $data;
}
// Example response
$response = [
'client1' => [
'dog' => [
'Jack' => 'Some value',
],
]
];
// Define the query as an array
$query = ['dog', 'Jack'];
$result = findInArray($query, $response['client1']);
Demo: https://3v4l.org/WjXTn

Answer 2

Edit:
So since the array's structure can't be changed this will return the client if the structure remains ['client']['animal']['name'].
$clients = [
'client1' => [
'dog' => [
'Jack' => []
]
],
'client2' => [
'cat' => [
'Stacy' => []
]
]
];
$animal = 'dog';
$name = 'Jack';
foreach ($clients as $client => $options) {
if (
array_key_exists($animal, $options) &&
array_key_exists($name, $options[$animal])
) {
echo $client;
break;
}
}