parallel-array-alignment-pattern

name	parallel-array-alignment-pattern
description	Maintain index synchronization between parallel arrays when adding new entries to preserve label-path mappings
version	1.0.0
source	auto-extracted
extracted	"2026-04-10T00:00:00.000Z"
metadata	{"tags":["bash","data-structures","array-handling","configuration-management"]}

Parallel Array Alignment Pattern

When modifying bash scripts that use parallel arrays (e.g., SOURCE_LABELS and SOURCE_PATHS), ensure new entries are appended to both arrays at matching indices. The loop that consumes these arrays typically iterates by index: for i in "${!SOURCE_LABELS[@]}"; do ... "${SOURCE_LABELS[$i]}" ... "${SOURCE_PATHS[$i]}".

Before adding an entry, verify the current array length is identical across all parallel arrays. Add your new element to each array at the same position to prevent off-by-one misalignment that breaks the label-path relationship.