What does var = {} mean?

[knapsack3]

Hi,

I have a statement like
var a = {};

Does that mean a is an object or an array?

Also, later in the code I have something like
a.name = "temp";
a.age = 25;
etc.,

Now, how do I access a's variables dynamically? i.e a method like

getDetails(fieldname){
return ( a.eval(fieldname));
}
But eval() throws an error in IE.
Any suggestions please.
thanks.

[ahundiak]

This is a PHP forum. Might have better luck in a javascript forum.

[NogDog]

The "{}" is used to create a new, empty object.

var a = {};
a.test = "This is a test.";
alert(a.test);