Convert an Array like string to array in php

Question

I have a string (something like var_dump) and need to convert it to an array. I can use explode and str_replace ... but i need to know is there any other or better solution for this issue or not. string is line by line ...

example string:

$myString = "something => somevalue
anotherthing => somevalue
A => B
X => Z";

need to convert to:

$myArray = array(something => somevalue,anotherthing => somevalue,A => B,X => Z");

explode it by newline, then explode each line by arrow. explode — Kevin
– Kevin, Commented Sep 28, 2020 at 1:19
It would be better if you used a format that's designed to be parsed, like JSON. — Barmar
– Barmar, Commented Sep 28, 2020 at 1:20

user1597430 · Accepted Answer · 2020-09-28 02:17:08Z

3

A few exotic options.

INI parser:

$array = parse_ini_string(str_replace('=>', '=', $string));

URL parser:

parse_str(str_replace(' => ', '=', str_replace(PHP_EOL, '&', $string)), $array);

RegExp:

preg_match_all('/(.*) \=\> (.*)/', $string, $matches);

$array = array_combine($matches[1], $matches[2]);

edited Sep 28, 2020 at 2:17

answered Sep 28, 2020 at 1:41

user1597430

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Nick · Accepted Answer · 2020-09-28 01:22:52Z

2

You can just use a nested explode:

$myString = "something => somevalue
anotherthing => somevalue
A => B
X => Z";

$myArray = array();
foreach (explode(PHP_EOL, $myString) as $line) {
    list($key, $value) = explode(' => ', $line);
    $myArray[$key] = $value;
}
print_r($myArray);

Output:

Array
(
    [something] => somevalue
    [anotherthing] => somevalue
    [A] => B
    [X] => Z
)

Demo on 3v4l.org

answered Sep 28, 2020 at 1:22

Nick

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