json_decode returns a nested array?

Question

I'm getting back a JSON string from a third party API. When I use json_decode($json, true) to put it into an array, I end up with a nested array. It seems to me it shouldn't be like this. Can someone explain if this is correct behavior?

$obj = getStatus('100000043');
var_dump($obj);

getStatus calls the third-party API. The result of var_dump is:

string(245) "[{"Status":"Processing","OrderNum":"87","InvoiceNum":"0","PoNum":"100000043","ShippingCost":"","TrackingNum":"","ShippingWeight":"","cust_num":"123","entryTime":"2012-02-02 15:19:05","branch":"0","CustPoNum":"43","brord":"12345"}]"

Ok, so I decode to an array:

$myArray = json_decode($obj, true); 
var_dump($myArray);

result is:

array(1) { [0]=> array(12) { ["Status"]=> string(10) "Processing" ["OrderNum"]=> string(5) "87686" ["InvoiceNum"]=> string(1) "0" ["PaPoNum"]=> string(9) "100000043" ["ShippingCost"]=> string(0) "" ["TrackingNum"]=> string(0) "" ["ShippingWeight"]=> string(0) "" ["cust_num"]=> string(5) "64366" ["entryTime"]=> string(19) "2012-02-02 15:19:05" ["branch"]=> string(1) "8" ["CustPoNum"]=> string(9) "100000043" ["brord"]=> string(6) "887686" } }

The array I want is nested within $myArray[0] ... How to get a value out:

$myArray[0]['Status']

From the docs and examples I would expect $myArray['Status'] to work.

Do i misunderstand or I'm doing something wrong or is there something funky about the API result?

Why don't you just workaround it with $myArray = $myArray[0]; just a suggestion... — Rick Kuipers
– Rick Kuipers, Commented Feb 3, 2012 at 22:14

Francis Lewis · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-03 22:20:40Z

3

with json encoded data, when you have code that starts with a square brace, then it contains data with curly braces: [{data}], it's always going to be a nested array.

It's simple enough to access the data using $myArray[0]['Status']. You can also assign $myArray[0] to $myArray like this:

$myArray = $myArray[0];

Then you can access all elements of the array using this syntax:

$myArray['Status'];

answered Feb 3, 2012 at 22:20

Francis Lewis

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1 Comment

microsaurus_dex Over a year ago

thanks! working with json is new for me. now i know that accessing it like this is not a hack :)

lonesomeday · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-03 22:20:36Z

string(245) "[{"Status":"Processing","OrderNum":"87","InvoiceNum":"0","PoNum":"100000043","ShippingCost":"","TrackingNum":"","ShippingWeight":"","cust_num":"123","entryTime":"2012-02-02 15:19:05","branch":"0","CustPoNum":"43","brord":"12345"}]"

Look at the first and last characters of that string: [ and ]. This is JSON (and Javascript) syntax for an array. So the object that you actually want is the first (and only) member of a JSON array. So when you decode it with PHP, PHP reflects the JSON structure and puts the object you want as the first (and only) member of an array.

You have two choices. You could just get extract the data you want with array syntax after decoding it:

$myArray = $myArray[0];

Alternatively, you could remove the first and last characters with substr, so the array literal isn't present. Note that this is much less stable than the first version.

$myArray = json_decode(substr($obj, 1, -1), true);

Note that this will break if you have more than one object returned, so don't use it if that's a remote possibility.

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