How to Convert a String to JSON Object in PHP ?

Given a String, the task is to convert the given string into a JSON object in PHP. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a widely used data interchange format. PHP provides convenient functions to work with JSON data.

Approach 1: Using json_decode() to Convert to an Array

The json_decode() function is a versatile and commonly used method to convert a JSON-formatted string into a PHP object.

PHP

<?php

// Your JSON-formatted string
$jsonString = '{"key1": "value1", "key2": "value2", "key3": "value3"}';

// Convert JSON string to a PHP object
$phpObject = json_decode($jsonString);

// Output the result
print_r($phpObject);
?>

Output

stdClass Object
(
    [key1] => value1
    [key2] => value2
    [key3] => value3
)

Approach 2: Handling Errors with json_last_error() and json_last_error_msg() Methods

It’s essential to handle errors that may occur during the decoding process. The json_last_error() function returns the last error occurred, and json_last_error_msg() provides a human-readable error message.

PHP

<?php

$jsonString = '{"key1": "value1", "key2": "value2", "key3": "value3"}';

// Decode the JSON string
$decodedData = json_decode($jsonString);

// Check for errors
if ($decodedData === null) {
    echo "Error decoding JSON: "
        . json_last_error_msg();
} else {

    // Successfully decoded
    print_r($decodedData);
}

?>

Output

stdClass Object
(
    [key1] => value1
    [key2] => value2
    [key3] => value3
)