Print value from stdClass Object/array with curly brackets

Question

Using PHP, I printed out an array ($result) using print_r. But the format in which the array has been returned is a new one on me. Specifically, how do I retrieve the text found in the field "reviews_review" ("Wow, what a great...") when it's found in this particular format with its multiple values? Example:

stdClass Object
 (
 [node_reviews_nid] => 5270
 [reviews_review] => a:2:{s:5:"value";s:38:"Wow, what a great place.  The bestest!";s:6:"format";s:13:"filtered_html";}

Those extra values and curly brackets have got me stumped. If I wanted the node_reviews_nid I could simply use $result->node_reviews_nid" - but doing that to get reviews_review just retrieves too much ie,

a:2:{s:5:"value";s:38:"Wow, what a great place.  The bestest!";s:6:"format";s:13:"filtered_html";})

kalatabe · Accepted Answer · 2016-03-23 16:53:38Z

2

The odd curly brackets you're seeing are the result of PHP's serialize function.

Basically it's intended to convert complex structures like objects, nested arrays and so on into simple strings which are easier and safer to transfer, for example over HTTP. Think of it as JSON representation, but specific to PHP (do not attempt to json_decode() a serialized value).

Also worth noting is that serialize-d string has a maximum length, beyond which it's simply truncated, so avoid using it for very large structures - you'll lose data.

The reverse of that is unserialize. So to read the review's text, you would first have to unserialize the "reviews_review" property, then reference the "value" index of the resulting array.

$review_data = unserialize($result->reviews_review);
$review_text = $review_data['value'];
print($review_text);

answered Mar 23, 2016 at 16:53

kalatabe

2,9992 gold badges17 silver badges24 bronze badges

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

1 Comment

tvsmvp Over a year ago

A-ha! Thanks much for that. Perfect. I had a devil of a time figuring out how to tackle that - because it was more than a little tough to figure out what search terms to use to hone in! Thanks to both you and RiggsFolly for turning in great answers (separated by just a minute - that's service!) Thanks again - K

RiggsFolly · Accepted Answer · 2016-03-23 16:54:20Z

1

The data in reviews_review looks like a serialized array i.e. written using the serialize() function

So you will need to unserialize it using unserialize() before you can use it

$review = unserialize($obj->reviews_review);
print_r($review);

answered Mar 23, 2016 at 16:54

RiggsFolly

94.7k22 gold badges108 silver badges152 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Print value from stdClass Object/array with curly brackets

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related