<?php
$path = "group1.group2.group3.element";
$tempArr = explode('.', $path);
$results = array();
$arrStr = '$results';
$value = 'testing';
foreach( $tempArr as $ky=>$val) {
$arrStr .= "['".$val."']";
( $ky == count($tempArr) - 1 ) ? $arrStr .= ' = $value;' : '';
}
eval($arrStr);
print_r($results);
?>