Section A.6. 4: Using JSON libraries in your PHP scripts

A.6. #4: Using JSON libraries in your PHP scripts

You've already seen how JSON can help you send and receive complex objects in your Ajax apps. But for PHP scripts, you're going to need a library if you don't want to type in your JSON manually. Here's how you can use JSON in your PHP scripts, without needing to type in the JSON by hand:

JSON-PHP

Where to get it: http://mike.teczno.com/json.html

How to use it:

JSON-PHP is probably the easier JSON library to use in your PHP scripts. It's easy to install and use.

 require_once('JSON.php');First, use require_once() to include the JSON.php file you downloaded from the JSON-PHP web site. require_once() makes sure that the JSON.php file is only loaded once, even if multiple PHP scripts refer to JSON.php. $json = new Services_JSON();Create a new variable, and assign it a new instance of the Services_JSON class. This class will let you output JSON data from your PHP data structures. 

 $order1 = array('name' => 'Jim',You can create arrays and variables just as you normally would in your PHP code.                 'size' => 'large',                 'beverage' => 'mocha',                 'coffeemaker' => 1); $order2 = array('name' => 'Bob',                 'size' => 'medium',                 'beverage' => 'latte',                 'coffeemaker' => 2); $orders =     array('coffeeOrders' =>              array($order1, $order2)); $outputWhen you're ready to convert your data structure to JSON, use your Services_JSON object, and run encode() on your PHP variable. =$json->encode($orders); print($output);Finally, use print() to send the encoded JSON back to the requesting web browser.