PHP Array to String equivalent

Question

I'm wondering if anyone has a recursive solution to converting an array to a string.

Here's what I mean:

An array $args that has the following contents:

Array
(
    [0] => $hello
    [1] => 411px
    [Jeeves] => Array
        (
            [compiling] => 1
        )

)

Result after calling arr_to_string($args):

array($hello,"411px", "Jeeves" => array("compiling" => 1));

Note: It recognizes the $ sign in front and therefore does not add quotes. It does the same for numbers.

Anyone have any solution or can point me in the right direction?

Thanks! Matt Mueller

Playing with the code and make a data of it is always dangerous game. Programmer should avoid such cases. Most of time it is much better to treat data as data, in the XML format, for example. — Your Common Sense
– Your Common Sense, Commented Apr 9, 2010 at 8:00

Community · Accepted Answer · 2023-11-17 19:32:19Z

17

Looks like you are after

var_export — Outputs or returns a parsable string representation of a variable

That won't give you $hello though, because $hello cannot be in an array. It's always just the value of the variable, not the variable name. If you want '$hello', put it into single quotes when inserting it to the array, e.g. insert it as a string, not as a variable.

edited Nov 17, 2023 at 19:32

CommunityBot

11 silver badge

answered Apr 9, 2010 at 7:39

Gordon

318k76 gold badges548 silver badges566 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

5 Comments

Matt Over a year ago

Wow. PHP never ceases to amaze me. It's got a function for EVERYTHING. Thanks man for uncovering this gem.

Matt Over a year ago

Oh and about the $ sign. I'm looking to evaluate it later (when the variable is known) - that's why it shouldn't have single quotes around it.

selfawaresoup Over a year ago

If you want a more compact representation of the arrays contents, try encoding as JSON with json_encode() or try serialize() for a format that is most reusable by PHP.

Gordon Over a year ago

@Matt that's impossible. If you do $myArray[] = $foo, then the array will contain the value of $foo, not the name you gave to the variable. Put in the name 'hello' and later evaluate it as variable variable. See de2.php.net/manual/en/language.variables.variable.php

Your Common Sense Over a year ago

@Matt why not to set this element after you've got it's value, not before? And what is the final goal of these unusual movements?

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

PHP Array to String equivalent

1 Answer 1

5 Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

5 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related