The only way to define an array in php is by the array() language construct. PHP doesn't have a shorthand for array literals like some other languages do.
E_NOTICE level error is issued in case
of working with uninitialized
variables, however not in the case of
appending elements to the
uninitialized array.
As for shorthand methods, there are lots scattered all over. If you want to find them just read The Manual.
Some examples, just for your amusement:
$arr[] shorthand for array_push.
The foreach construct
echo $string1, $string2, $string3;
Array concatenation with +
The existence of elseif
Variable embedding in strings, $name = 'Jack'; echo "Hello $name";