Storing complex string in PHP Variable

Question

Is it possible to store soemthing like this in a php string:

$variable = "'orderby'=>'title','order'=>ASC'"

I want to use it in a wordpress loop, but am unsure if I can store multiple arguments in a single variable as a string. For example, I do not want the variable to store multiple arguments, but rather the entire quoted text as a string.

WordPress itself stores such data as JSON so apart from the fact that Trey's answer is good, you shouldn't use serialize() if you're going to store that data in database. — Tomasz Kowalczyk
– Tomasz Kowalczyk, Commented Jun 23, 2012 at 15:30
I see...I am trying to solve the problem here: stackoverflow.com/questions/11170480/… — JCHASE11
– JCHASE11, Commented Jun 23, 2012 at 15:33

Trey · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-23 15:41:15Z

3

Your best bet would be to create an array or object and serialize it...:

$variable = array('orderby'=>'title','order'=>'ASC');
$string=serialize($variable);

in response to your question about using it in the loop...

$args=array( 'post_type' => 'films', 'post_parent' => 0, 'posts_per_page' => -1);
$more=unserialize($variable);

$loop = new WP_Query( $args+$more );

Json is a faster conversion format as others are trying to point out, and if you're only using this for simple arrays it may be the better solution. Serialize offers some very interesting features for Objects

edited Jun 23, 2012 at 15:41

answered Jun 23, 2012 at 15:26

Trey

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3 Comments

JCHASE11 Over a year ago

how is the variable $string defined?

Trey Over a year ago

it's a mysql safe string that defines an array... you can use unserialize($string) to return it to an array

JCHASE11 Over a year ago

if I store them as an array, could I use the variable in the loop like so: <?php $loop = new WP_Query( array( 'post_type' => 'films', 'post_parent' => 0, 'posts_per_page' => -1, serialize($variable); ) ); ?>

Tomasz Kowalczyk · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-23 15:27:10Z

0

Use JSON:

// $json contains {'orderby':'title','order':'ASC'}
$json = json_encode(array('orderby' => 'title', 'order' => 'ASC'));

answered Jun 23, 2012 at 15:27

Tomasz Kowalczyk

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2 Comments

JCHASE11 Over a year ago

how would I use JSON in the context of this problem: stackoverflow.com/questions/11170480/…

Tomasz Kowalczyk Over a year ago

I've answered that question, please look at it.

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