In most (all?) cases you may use an INI file for associative arrays. I've used them for this in the past, sanitizing keys and data when needed. If your data and keys are simple enough you can use the file directly without any extra coding.

Linked lists are also fairly easy implement with an array:
Code:
Dim $avData[3,x]
; $avData[0,x] = Data
; $avData[1,x] = Reverse pointer
; $avData[2,x] = Forward pointer


I'm not saying that linked lists and associative arrays are not a good suggestion - they are an excellent suggestion - but while we wait for them to appear you can use these work-arounds.