using eval in PHP with multidimensional array

Question

I have a array that I am writing to a file using var_export(). I reload the array every time the script starts. However, whenever I try to reference a variable inside the array it returns 'a', I can do a print_r() and see the array just fine, I just can not access the variable I want. Here is the saved output:

array (
  'timestamp' => '1283882964',
  'files_submitted' => 2943,
  'errors' => array (
                     '/WebFS/xx.doc' => array (
                                                                                                                                                         'STATUS' => 400,
                                                                                                                                                  ),
                     'WebFS/xx.doc.doc' => array (
                                                                                                                                                                  'STATUS' => 400,
                                                                                                                                                            ),
              )
)

Here is the code I use to save:

function add_log_entry($filename,$return_arr) {
        //$timestamp = strval(mktime());
        $return_arr['timestamp'] = mktime();
        $return_str = var_export($return_arr,true);
        return file_put_contents($filename, $return_str);
}

Here is the code I use to recall the array:

function get_log_entry($filename) {

        $var_str = file_get_contents($filename);
        eval("\$return_var = \$var_str;");
        die($return_var['timestamp']);
        return $return_var;
}

You can see I put the die() in the recall code and this is where the 'a' is coming from.

Thanks to whom ever responds.

Ben

Why do you use an array you cannot refer to? Ever considered to use a less complex (for you) structure? — Your Common Sense
– Your Common Sense, Commented Sep 7, 2010 at 20:38

knittl · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-24 15:46:10Z

2

~~use the php functions serialize and unserialize, no need to write your own hacks using var_export and eval (apart from the security implications)~~

example code:

file_put_contents($filename, serialize($array)); $array = unserialize(file_get_contents($filename));

Using serialize/unserialize might impose a security risk. To serialize simple arrays/data structures it's better to use the json_encode function:

 file_put_contents($filename, json_encode($array));
 $array = json_decode(file_get_contents($filename), TRUE);

edited Jul 24, 2013 at 15:46

answered Sep 7, 2010 at 20:31

knittl

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1 Comment

knittl Over a year ago

This answer is old and outdated. unserialize might impose security risks. If you just need to serialize an array, better use json_decode

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