First index/value of sparse array

Question

I have a sparse array in bash where I don't know the value of the lowest numbered index, and I want to pull that value out with its index. How do I find it?

#/bin/bash

a=( [12]="blue" [31]="violet" [59]="paisley" )

index=?

I want the first one.

Answer 1

Transfer the numerical indices to an array and use its first element:

a=( [59]="paisley" [12]="blue" [31]="violet" )
arr=("${!a[@]}"); echo "${a[${arr[0]}]}"

Output:

blue

Answer 2

Easy. Break a for loop.

#/bin/bash

a=( [12]="blue" [31]="violet" [59]="paisley" )

for index in "${!a[@]}"; do break; done

value="${a[$index]}"

echo "$index - $value"