How to transform a string that contains a nested array into an actual array?

Question

I am trying to find a way to transform a string type variable into an array type variable. To be more precise, what i am looking for is the change this (example):

$v = "['1', 'a', ['2', 'b', ['3'], 'c']]";

note that this is not a json-formatted string. into this:

$v = ['1', 'a', ['2', 'b', ['3'], 'c']];

Note the double-quotes in the first example, $v is a string, not an array, which is the desired effect.

Single quotes aren't valid in JSON, so that won't help here. If you've got PHP array syntax in a string, you'll need to use eval(), as horrible as that is. — iainn
– iainn, Commented Apr 22, 2016 at 11:49
@iainn you're right, json parse didn't help me at all, and simply using eval on it won't work either. i presume it needs some complex combination of parsing and eval — Mihai Zamfir
– Mihai Zamfir, Commented Apr 22, 2016 at 11:50

RomanPerekhrest · Accepted Answer · 2016-04-22 11:56:15Z

3

Simple solution using str_replace(to prepare for decoding) and json_decode functions:

$v = "['1', 'a', ['2', 'b', ['3'], 'c']]";
$converted = json_decode(str_replace("'",'"',$v));

print_r($converted);

The output:

Array
(
    [0] => 1
    [1] => a
    [2] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2
            [1] => b
            [2] => Array
                (
                    [0] => 3
                )

            [3] => c
        )    
)

answered Apr 22, 2016 at 11:56

RomanPerekhrest

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apoq · Accepted Answer · 2016-04-22 11:54:34Z

2

$v = "['1', 'a', ['2', 'b', ['3'], 'c']]";

eval("\$v = $v;");

var_dump($v);

PS: make sure $v string doesn't contain unexpected code.

answered Apr 22, 2016 at 11:54

apoq

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2 Comments

Mihai Zamfir Over a year ago

thank you for your answer! the code provided works, but i choose to use Romans' solution to avoid using the eval function

apoq Over a year ago

You're welcome, and you're right about preferring the json_decode solution over eval.

granmirupa · Accepted Answer · 2016-04-22 12:02:28Z

1

This should work:

$json = "['1', 'a', ['2', 'b', ['3'], 'c']]";
$json = str_replace("'",'"',$json);
$result_array = json_decode($json); // This is your array

answered Apr 22, 2016 at 12:02

granmirupa

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