How to JSON encode this PHP array?

Question

I have an array $suggested_cities, here it is vardumped:

array(3) {
  [15526]=>
  string(9) "Alabaster"
  [15137]=>
  string(7) "Florala"
  [37091]=>
  string(8) "Saraland"
}

When I json encode this array:

echo json_encode(array($suggested_cities));

I get this output:

[{
    "15526": "Alabaster",
    "15137": "Florala",
    "37091": "Saraland"
}]

But I need it to be:

[{
    "15526": "Alabaster"
},
{
    "15137": "Florala"
},
{
    "37091": "Saraland"
}]

How can I do that? I assume it's a "duh" answer but I just can't figure it out.

The desired JSON structure represents an array of objects - there's a big clue. Also, it would be better to use two fields per object, for id and city. — David Snabel-Caunt
– David Snabel-Caunt, Commented Dec 13, 2011 at 0:31
@David Caunt you're right, just had to turn suggested_cities into a multidimensional array. Also used the id as a separate field instead of the key. Thanks. — TKpop
– TKpop, Commented Dec 13, 2011 at 0:38

Felix Kling · Accepted Answer · 2011-12-13 00:39:53Z

2

One way:

$json = json_encode(array_chunk($suggested_cities, 1, true));

Though simply encoding $suggested_cities seems to be more straightforward.

answered Dec 13, 2011 at 0:32

Felix Kling

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1 Comment

This works so I will pick this as best answer, but all I had to do was turn $suggested_cities into a multidimensional array and json encode that.