Add to a JSON object, with PHP - php

Question

I'd like to increment a JSON object with a new given one but I can't do it. I have the following JSON:
{ "field_name":{ "type":"text", "visual_name":"Field Name", "required": true } }
The user will create more fields and I'd like to insert in the original JSON the new field that comes in this format:
"field_name2":{ "type":"select", "visual_name":"Field Name 2", "required": true, "options":{"opt1":"yes","opt2":"no"} }

Answer 1

Looks like you're trying to add new elements to the root JSON object, in which case you simply need to:
Decode the JSON objects into PHP arrays.
Merge the arrays into one.
Encode the merged array back into JSON.
$field1 = '{"field_name":{"type":"text", "visual_name":"Field Name", "required":true}}';
$field2 = '{"field_name2":{"type":"select", "visual_name":"Field Name 2", "required":true, "options":{"opt1":"yes", "opt2":"no"}}}';
$arr = array_merge(json_decode($json1, true), json_decode($json2, true));
$json = json_encode($arr);
The final $json object will be:
{
"field_name": {
"type": "text",
"visual_name": "Field Name",
"required": true
},
"field_name2": {
"type": "select",
"visual_name": "Field Name 2",
"required": true,
"options": {
"opt1": "yes",
"opt2": "no"
}
}
}
If you want to add the fields into a JSON array, rather than an object, you can do this instead:
$arr = [json_decode($json1, true), json_decode($json2, true)];
Which results in:
[
{
"field_name": {
"type": "text",
"visual_name": "Field Name",
"required": true
}
},
{
"field_name2": {
"type": "select",
"visual_name": "Field Name 2",
"required": true,
"options": {
"opt1": "yes",
"opt2": "no"
}
}
}
]
Note
If you try to add your original second field as you have given it in your question, it won't work because it's not a fully formatted JSON string. You must ensure it has the outer pair of curly braces.
Incorrect:
"field_name2":{"type":"select", "visual_name": ...}
Correct:
{"field_name2":{"type":"select", "visual_name": ...}}