PHP: Creating an associative array programmatically

Question

I have a return string from a 3rd party plugin that looks like a var_dump from an array. I'm trying to parse into a valid associative array. Looking at various examples and doing some tests with the code that follows. The last segment demonstrates the problem I'm having. I'm trying to parse out the data into a string and then programmatically create an array after my data string has been finished. When I do a print_r on $vegetables2, I get:

Array([0] => “Gourd”=”40 kilojoules”,”Artichoke”=”105 kilojoules”,”Cassava”=”550 kilojoules”)

And the echo $vegetables2["Artichoke"] produces no value. Can someone please guide me at the correct syntax to create the array equivalent to the first two examples?

//this works:
echo "From creating the entire array with a static string:<br/>";
$vegetables = array("Gourd"=>"40 kilojoules", "Artichoke"=>"105 kilojoules", "Cassava"=>"550 kilojoules");
echo "Artichoke: " . $vegetables["Artichoke"] . "<br/>";

//this works too
$vegetables1['Gourd'] = "40 kilojoules";
$vegetables1['Artichoke'] = "105 kilojoules";
$vegetables1['Cassava'] = "550 kilojoules";
echo "From creating one element at a time:<br/>";
echo "Artichoke: " . $vegetables1["Artichoke"] . "<br/>";

//this doesn't work
$strData = "\"Gourd\"=\"40 kilojoules\",";
$strData = $strData . "\"Artichoke\"=\"105 kilojoules\",";
$strData = $strData . "\"Cassava\"=\"550 kilojoules\"";
echo $strData ."<br/>";
$vegetables2 = array($strData);
print_r($vegetables2);
echo "Artichoke: " . $vegetables2["Artichoke"];

105 Kilojoule Artichoke is the name of my Flaming Lips cover band. — Alex Howansky
– Alex Howansky, Commented Nov 30, 2017 at 19:41
This simply makes a one element array of the entire string you got: $vegetables2 = array($strData); ... Please show us an example of the RAW data you are trying to parse. It would shed light on many avenues for answers. — IncredibleHat
– IncredibleHat, Commented Nov 30, 2017 at 19:50
The input data returned from the plugin comes over like this: Array ( [Gourd] => 40 kilojoules [Artichoke] => 105 kilojoules [Casava] => 550 kilojoules ) The keys are not wrapped in quotes, but brackets and there are no commas separating the key/value pairs. — Doug V.
– Doug V., Commented Nov 30, 2017 at 19:53
Well, there's this: stackoverflow.com/questions/3531857/…, but I'd rather just not use a plugin that produced its output in var_dump format, if possible. — Don't Panic
– Don't Panic, Commented Nov 30, 2017 at 20:37

Halis Tosun · Accepted Answer · 2017-11-30 19:56:26Z

0

$strData = "\"Gourd\"=\"40 kilojoules\",";
$strData = $strData . "\"Artichoke\"=\"105 kilojoules\",";
$strData = $strData . "\"Cassava\"=\"550 kilojoules\"";


$dd=str_replace('"','',"$strData");
$ff=explode(',',$dd);
foreach ($ff as $c)
{
$xx=explode('=',$c);
$vegetables2["$xx[0]"]=$xx[1];
}
print_r($vegetables2);
echo "Artichoke: " . $vegetables2["Artichoke"];

answered Nov 30, 2017 at 19:56

Halis Tosun

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4 Comments

Andreas Over a year ago

aren't you supposed to have 'enclosing your strings?

Doug V. Over a year ago

Being that your end result array looks exactly like my starting array string, how do I go about just using that original string? This code does not do it: $arrayString = "Array ( [Gourd] => 40 kilojoules [Artichoke] => 105 kilojoules [Cassava] => 550 kilojoules )"; $vegetables3 = $arrayString; print_r($vegetables3); echo "Artichoke: " . $vegetables3["Artichoke"];

Halis Tosun Over a year ago

write here exactly return value of 3rd party plugin (array or string).

Doug V. Over a year ago

I included that above .. here it is again: Array ( [Gourd] => 40 kilojoules [Artichoke] => 105 kilojoules [Cassava] => 550 kilojoules )

Wayne S · Accepted Answer · 2021-10-06 00:36:33Z

0

This string is your input:

"Array ( [Gourd] => 40 kilojoules [Artichoke] => 105 kilojoules [Casava] => 550 kilojoules )"

use strpos() to locate "("
use strpos() to locate ")"
use substr() to get what is between ( and )
use explode to divide the result wherever "[" appears
use array() to start a new array
use foreach to reformat each piece
use explode to divide each piece wherever "=>" appears
use trim to remove excess characters (left and right)
use $data[$key] = $value to create a new array to your liking

edited Oct 6, 2021 at 0:36

answered Oct 6, 2021 at 0:23

Wayne S

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