I have done some searching on Stackoverflow already on this topic, however as far as I can tell, I am not treating an array as a string ?
The message I am getting is :
Array to string conversion in X on line 42
Line 42 of my code is the opening of a foreach loop :
foreach ($collection as $element) {
Variable $collection is a caching iterator that is based on database output:
$collection=new \CachingIterator(new \ArrayIterator($this->dbData));
If I print_r() on $this->dbData, I certainly get an array:
Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[c_id] => A
)
[1] => Array
(
[c_id] => B
)
So, in summary:
We have a confirmed output of an array
We know that ArrayIterator() expects an array as argument
We know that CachingIterator() expects an Iterator as argument
We know that foreach() can loop over an Iterator
TL;DR I am really not sure what I am treating as string here ?
EDIT TO ADD....
Even if I greatly simplify my code, I can still reproduce:
<?php
error_reporting (E_ALL | E_STRICT);
ini_set ('display_errors', 1);
$arrX=array(array("c_id"=>"A"),array("c_id"=>"B"));
$collection=new \CachingIterator(new \ArrayIterator($arrX));
foreach($collection as $element) {
echo $element["c_id"].PHP_EOL;
}
Notice: Array to string conversion in /Users/bp/tmp/test.php on line 6
A
Notice: Array to string conversion in /Users/bp/tmp/test.php on line 6
B
The short answer is, you're inadvertently asking the CachingIterator to convert the sub-arrays to strings during iteration. To not do this, don't use the CachingIterator::CALL_TOSTRING or CachingIterator::TOSTRING_USE_INNER flags.
You can set no flags, by using 0 as the value for the $flags parameter, or use a different flag: this can be done in the constructor, or after initialisation by using CachingIterator::setFlags().
For example:
$array = [["c_id" => "A"], ["c_id" => "B"]];
$collection = new CachingIterator(new ArrayIterator($array), 0);
foreach ($collection as $element) {
// no E_NOTICE messages, yay!
}
And a few words by way of explanation...
By default, the CachingIterator class sets the CachingIterator::CALL_TOSTRING flag as noted in the PHP manual page on CachingIterator.
public __construct ( Iterator $iterator [, int $flags = self::CALL_TOSTRING ] )
When this flag (or the CachingIterator::TOSTRING_USE_INNER flag) is set, and the CachingIterator::next() method is called (i.e. during iteration) the current value (in this case each sub-array) or the inner iterator (in this case, the ArrayIterator), respectively, is converted to a string and saved internally. This string value is what is returned from CachingIterator::__toString() when one of those flags is used.
When using any of the other flags, the above is not done when calling CachingIterator::next().
You need CachingIterator::FULL_CACHE per this PHP docs comment
<?php
$arrX = array(
array( "c_id" => "A" ),
array( "c_id" => "B" )
);
$collection = new \CachingIterator( new \ArrayIterator( $arrX ), CachingIterator::FULL_CACHE );
foreach( $collection as $element )
{
echo $element["c_id"].PHP_EOL;
}
Related
I am using json_decode() something like:
$myVar = json_decode($data)
Which gives me output like this:
[highlighting] => stdClass Object
(
[448364] => stdClass Object
(
[Data] => Array
(
[0] => Tax amount liability is .......
I want to access the string value in the key [0]. When I try to do something like:
print $myVar->highlighting->448364->Data->0;
I get this error:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_DNUMBER
The two numerals/integers there seems to be problem.
Updated for PHP 7.2
PHP 7.2 introduced a behavioral change to converting numeric keys in object and array casts, which fixes this particular inconsistency and makes all the following examples behave as expected.
One less thing to be confused about!
Original answer (applies to versions earlier than 7.2.0)
PHP has its share of dark alleys that you really don't want to find yourself inside. Object properties with names that are numbers is one of them...
What they never told you
Fact #1: You cannot access properties with names that are not legal variable names easily
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->123foo; // error
Fact #2: You can access such properties with curly brace syntax
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->{'123foo'}; // OK!
Fact #3: But not if the property name is all digits!
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->{'123foo'}; // OK!
echo $o->{'123'}; // error!
Live example.
Fact #4: Well, unless the object didn't come from an array in the first place.
$a = array('123' => '123');
$o1 = (object)$a;
$o2 = new stdClass;
$o2->{'123'} = '123'; // setting property is OK
echo $o1->{'123'}; // error!
echo $o2->{'123'}; // works... WTF?
Live example.
Pretty intuitive, don't you agree?
What you can do
Option #1: do it manually
The most practical approach is simply to cast the object you are interested in back into an array, which will allow you to access the properties:
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
$a = (array)$o;
echo $o->{'123'}; // error!
echo $a['123']; // OK!
Unfortunately, this does not work recursively. So in your case you 'd need to do something like:
$highlighting = (array)$myVar->highlighting;
$data = (array)$highlighting['448364']->Data;
$value = $data['0']; // at last!
Option #2: the nuclear option
An alternative approach would be to write a function that converts objects to arrays recursively:
function recursive_cast_to_array($o) {
$a = (array)$o;
foreach ($a as &$value) {
if (is_object($value)) {
$value = recursive_cast_to_array($value);
}
}
return $a;
}
$arr = recursive_cast_to_array($myVar);
$value = $arr['highlighting']['448364']['Data']['0'];
However, I 'm not convinced that this is a better option across the board because it will needlessly cast to arrays all of the properties that you are not interested in as well as those you are.
Option #3: playing it clever
An alternative of the previous option is to use the built-in JSON functions:
$arr = json_decode(json_encode($myVar), true);
$value = $arr['highlighting']['448364']['Data']['0'];
The JSON functions helpfully perform a recursive conversion to array without the need to define any external functions. However desirable this looks, it has the "nuke" disadvantage of option #2 and additionally the disadvantage that if there is any strings inside your object, those strings must be encoded in UTF-8 (this is a requirement of json_encode).
Just wanted to add to Jon's eloquent explanation the reason why this fails. It's all because when creating an array, php converts keys to integers — if it can — which causes lookup problems on arrays which have been cast to objects, simply because the numeric key is preserved. This is problematic because all property access options expect or convert to strings. You can confirm this by doing the following:
$arr = array('123' => 'abc');
$obj = (object) $arr;
$obj->{'123'} = 'abc';
print_r( $obj );
Which would output:
stdClass Object (
[123] => 'abc',
[123] => 'abc'
)
So the object has two property keys, one numeric (which can't be accessed) and one string based. This is the reason why Jon's #Fact 4 works, because by setting the property using curly braces means you always define a string-based key, rather than numeric.
Taking Jon's solution, but turning it on its head, you can generate an object from your array that always has string-based keys by doing the following:
$obj = json_decode(json_encode($arr));
From now on you can use either of the following because access in this manner always converts the value inside the curly brace to a string:
$obj->{123};
$obj->{'123'};
Good old illogical PHP...
For PHP 7
Accessing Object properties having numbers as property name.
Mostly needed after casting array to object.
$arr = [2,3,7];
$o = (object) $arr;
$t = "1";
$t2 = 1;
$t3 = (1);
echo $o->{1}; // 3
echo $o->{'1'}; // 3
echo $o->$t; // 3
echo $o->$t2; // 3
echo $o->$t3; // 3
echo $o->1; // error
echo $o->(1); // error
If an object begins with # like:
SimpleXMLElement Object (
[#attributes] => Array (
[href] => qwertyuiop.html
[id] => html21
[media-type] => application/xhtml+xml
)
)
You have to use:
print_r($parent_object->attributes());
because $parent_object->{'#attributes'} or $parent_object['#attributes'] won't work.
A final alternative to Jon's comprehensive answer:
Simply use json_decode() with the second parameter set to true.
$array = json_decode($url, true);
This then returns an associative array rather than an object so no need to convert after the fact.
This may not be suitable to every application but it really helped me to easily reference a property of the oroginal object.
Solution was found in this tutorial - http://nitschinger.at/Handling-JSON-like-a-boss-in-PHP/
Regards
I had copied this function from the net. If it works as it says ("Function to Convert stdClass Objects to Multidimensional Arrays"), try the following:
<?php
function objectToArray($d) {
if (is_object($d)) {
// Gets the properties of the given object
// with get_object_vars function
$d = get_object_vars($d);
}
if (is_array($d)) {
/*
* Return array converted to object
* Using __FUNCTION__ (Magic constant)
* for recursive call
*/
return array_map(__FUNCTION__, $d);
}
else {
// Return array
return $d;
}
}
?>
first pass your array to objectToArray function
then take the return value
echo [highlighting][448364][Data][0]
Source: PHP stdClass to Array and Array to stdClass
I'm afraid you aren't allowed to name objects starting with numerics. Rename the first one "448364" starting with a letter.
The second one is an array, those are to be accessed by brackets like so:
print myVar->highlighting->test_448364->Data[0]
instead
I am using json_decode() something like:
$myVar = json_decode($data)
Which gives me output like this:
[highlighting] => stdClass Object
(
[448364] => stdClass Object
(
[Data] => Array
(
[0] => Tax amount liability is .......
I want to access the string value in the key [0]. When I try to do something like:
print $myVar->highlighting->448364->Data->0;
I get this error:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_DNUMBER
The two numerals/integers there seems to be problem.
Updated for PHP 7.2
PHP 7.2 introduced a behavioral change to converting numeric keys in object and array casts, which fixes this particular inconsistency and makes all the following examples behave as expected.
One less thing to be confused about!
Original answer (applies to versions earlier than 7.2.0)
PHP has its share of dark alleys that you really don't want to find yourself inside. Object properties with names that are numbers is one of them...
What they never told you
Fact #1: You cannot access properties with names that are not legal variable names easily
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->123foo; // error
Fact #2: You can access such properties with curly brace syntax
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->{'123foo'}; // OK!
Fact #3: But not if the property name is all digits!
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->{'123foo'}; // OK!
echo $o->{'123'}; // error!
Live example.
Fact #4: Well, unless the object didn't come from an array in the first place.
$a = array('123' => '123');
$o1 = (object)$a;
$o2 = new stdClass;
$o2->{'123'} = '123'; // setting property is OK
echo $o1->{'123'}; // error!
echo $o2->{'123'}; // works... WTF?
Live example.
Pretty intuitive, don't you agree?
What you can do
Option #1: do it manually
The most practical approach is simply to cast the object you are interested in back into an array, which will allow you to access the properties:
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
$a = (array)$o;
echo $o->{'123'}; // error!
echo $a['123']; // OK!
Unfortunately, this does not work recursively. So in your case you 'd need to do something like:
$highlighting = (array)$myVar->highlighting;
$data = (array)$highlighting['448364']->Data;
$value = $data['0']; // at last!
Option #2: the nuclear option
An alternative approach would be to write a function that converts objects to arrays recursively:
function recursive_cast_to_array($o) {
$a = (array)$o;
foreach ($a as &$value) {
if (is_object($value)) {
$value = recursive_cast_to_array($value);
}
}
return $a;
}
$arr = recursive_cast_to_array($myVar);
$value = $arr['highlighting']['448364']['Data']['0'];
However, I 'm not convinced that this is a better option across the board because it will needlessly cast to arrays all of the properties that you are not interested in as well as those you are.
Option #3: playing it clever
An alternative of the previous option is to use the built-in JSON functions:
$arr = json_decode(json_encode($myVar), true);
$value = $arr['highlighting']['448364']['Data']['0'];
The JSON functions helpfully perform a recursive conversion to array without the need to define any external functions. However desirable this looks, it has the "nuke" disadvantage of option #2 and additionally the disadvantage that if there is any strings inside your object, those strings must be encoded in UTF-8 (this is a requirement of json_encode).
Just wanted to add to Jon's eloquent explanation the reason why this fails. It's all because when creating an array, php converts keys to integers — if it can — which causes lookup problems on arrays which have been cast to objects, simply because the numeric key is preserved. This is problematic because all property access options expect or convert to strings. You can confirm this by doing the following:
$arr = array('123' => 'abc');
$obj = (object) $arr;
$obj->{'123'} = 'abc';
print_r( $obj );
Which would output:
stdClass Object (
[123] => 'abc',
[123] => 'abc'
)
So the object has two property keys, one numeric (which can't be accessed) and one string based. This is the reason why Jon's #Fact 4 works, because by setting the property using curly braces means you always define a string-based key, rather than numeric.
Taking Jon's solution, but turning it on its head, you can generate an object from your array that always has string-based keys by doing the following:
$obj = json_decode(json_encode($arr));
From now on you can use either of the following because access in this manner always converts the value inside the curly brace to a string:
$obj->{123};
$obj->{'123'};
Good old illogical PHP...
For PHP 7
Accessing Object properties having numbers as property name.
Mostly needed after casting array to object.
$arr = [2,3,7];
$o = (object) $arr;
$t = "1";
$t2 = 1;
$t3 = (1);
echo $o->{1}; // 3
echo $o->{'1'}; // 3
echo $o->$t; // 3
echo $o->$t2; // 3
echo $o->$t3; // 3
echo $o->1; // error
echo $o->(1); // error
If an object begins with # like:
SimpleXMLElement Object (
[#attributes] => Array (
[href] => qwertyuiop.html
[id] => html21
[media-type] => application/xhtml+xml
)
)
You have to use:
print_r($parent_object->attributes());
because $parent_object->{'#attributes'} or $parent_object['#attributes'] won't work.
A final alternative to Jon's comprehensive answer:
Simply use json_decode() with the second parameter set to true.
$array = json_decode($url, true);
This then returns an associative array rather than an object so no need to convert after the fact.
This may not be suitable to every application but it really helped me to easily reference a property of the oroginal object.
Solution was found in this tutorial - http://nitschinger.at/Handling-JSON-like-a-boss-in-PHP/
Regards
I had copied this function from the net. If it works as it says ("Function to Convert stdClass Objects to Multidimensional Arrays"), try the following:
<?php
function objectToArray($d) {
if (is_object($d)) {
// Gets the properties of the given object
// with get_object_vars function
$d = get_object_vars($d);
}
if (is_array($d)) {
/*
* Return array converted to object
* Using __FUNCTION__ (Magic constant)
* for recursive call
*/
return array_map(__FUNCTION__, $d);
}
else {
// Return array
return $d;
}
}
?>
first pass your array to objectToArray function
then take the return value
echo [highlighting][448364][Data][0]
Source: PHP stdClass to Array and Array to stdClass
I'm afraid you aren't allowed to name objects starting with numerics. Rename the first one "448364" starting with a letter.
The second one is an array, those are to be accessed by brackets like so:
print myVar->highlighting->test_448364->Data[0]
instead
I am using json_decode() something like:
$myVar = json_decode($data)
Which gives me output like this:
[highlighting] => stdClass Object
(
[448364] => stdClass Object
(
[Data] => Array
(
[0] => Tax amount liability is .......
I want to access the string value in the key [0]. When I try to do something like:
print $myVar->highlighting->448364->Data->0;
I get this error:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_DNUMBER
The two numerals/integers there seems to be problem.
Updated for PHP 7.2
PHP 7.2 introduced a behavioral change to converting numeric keys in object and array casts, which fixes this particular inconsistency and makes all the following examples behave as expected.
One less thing to be confused about!
Original answer (applies to versions earlier than 7.2.0)
PHP has its share of dark alleys that you really don't want to find yourself inside. Object properties with names that are numbers is one of them...
What they never told you
Fact #1: You cannot access properties with names that are not legal variable names easily
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->123foo; // error
Fact #2: You can access such properties with curly brace syntax
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->{'123foo'}; // OK!
Fact #3: But not if the property name is all digits!
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->{'123foo'}; // OK!
echo $o->{'123'}; // error!
Live example.
Fact #4: Well, unless the object didn't come from an array in the first place.
$a = array('123' => '123');
$o1 = (object)$a;
$o2 = new stdClass;
$o2->{'123'} = '123'; // setting property is OK
echo $o1->{'123'}; // error!
echo $o2->{'123'}; // works... WTF?
Live example.
Pretty intuitive, don't you agree?
What you can do
Option #1: do it manually
The most practical approach is simply to cast the object you are interested in back into an array, which will allow you to access the properties:
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
$a = (array)$o;
echo $o->{'123'}; // error!
echo $a['123']; // OK!
Unfortunately, this does not work recursively. So in your case you 'd need to do something like:
$highlighting = (array)$myVar->highlighting;
$data = (array)$highlighting['448364']->Data;
$value = $data['0']; // at last!
Option #2: the nuclear option
An alternative approach would be to write a function that converts objects to arrays recursively:
function recursive_cast_to_array($o) {
$a = (array)$o;
foreach ($a as &$value) {
if (is_object($value)) {
$value = recursive_cast_to_array($value);
}
}
return $a;
}
$arr = recursive_cast_to_array($myVar);
$value = $arr['highlighting']['448364']['Data']['0'];
However, I 'm not convinced that this is a better option across the board because it will needlessly cast to arrays all of the properties that you are not interested in as well as those you are.
Option #3: playing it clever
An alternative of the previous option is to use the built-in JSON functions:
$arr = json_decode(json_encode($myVar), true);
$value = $arr['highlighting']['448364']['Data']['0'];
The JSON functions helpfully perform a recursive conversion to array without the need to define any external functions. However desirable this looks, it has the "nuke" disadvantage of option #2 and additionally the disadvantage that if there is any strings inside your object, those strings must be encoded in UTF-8 (this is a requirement of json_encode).
Just wanted to add to Jon's eloquent explanation the reason why this fails. It's all because when creating an array, php converts keys to integers — if it can — which causes lookup problems on arrays which have been cast to objects, simply because the numeric key is preserved. This is problematic because all property access options expect or convert to strings. You can confirm this by doing the following:
$arr = array('123' => 'abc');
$obj = (object) $arr;
$obj->{'123'} = 'abc';
print_r( $obj );
Which would output:
stdClass Object (
[123] => 'abc',
[123] => 'abc'
)
So the object has two property keys, one numeric (which can't be accessed) and one string based. This is the reason why Jon's #Fact 4 works, because by setting the property using curly braces means you always define a string-based key, rather than numeric.
Taking Jon's solution, but turning it on its head, you can generate an object from your array that always has string-based keys by doing the following:
$obj = json_decode(json_encode($arr));
From now on you can use either of the following because access in this manner always converts the value inside the curly brace to a string:
$obj->{123};
$obj->{'123'};
Good old illogical PHP...
For PHP 7
Accessing Object properties having numbers as property name.
Mostly needed after casting array to object.
$arr = [2,3,7];
$o = (object) $arr;
$t = "1";
$t2 = 1;
$t3 = (1);
echo $o->{1}; // 3
echo $o->{'1'}; // 3
echo $o->$t; // 3
echo $o->$t2; // 3
echo $o->$t3; // 3
echo $o->1; // error
echo $o->(1); // error
If an object begins with # like:
SimpleXMLElement Object (
[#attributes] => Array (
[href] => qwertyuiop.html
[id] => html21
[media-type] => application/xhtml+xml
)
)
You have to use:
print_r($parent_object->attributes());
because $parent_object->{'#attributes'} or $parent_object['#attributes'] won't work.
A final alternative to Jon's comprehensive answer:
Simply use json_decode() with the second parameter set to true.
$array = json_decode($url, true);
This then returns an associative array rather than an object so no need to convert after the fact.
This may not be suitable to every application but it really helped me to easily reference a property of the oroginal object.
Solution was found in this tutorial - http://nitschinger.at/Handling-JSON-like-a-boss-in-PHP/
Regards
I had copied this function from the net. If it works as it says ("Function to Convert stdClass Objects to Multidimensional Arrays"), try the following:
<?php
function objectToArray($d) {
if (is_object($d)) {
// Gets the properties of the given object
// with get_object_vars function
$d = get_object_vars($d);
}
if (is_array($d)) {
/*
* Return array converted to object
* Using __FUNCTION__ (Magic constant)
* for recursive call
*/
return array_map(__FUNCTION__, $d);
}
else {
// Return array
return $d;
}
}
?>
first pass your array to objectToArray function
then take the return value
echo [highlighting][448364][Data][0]
Source: PHP stdClass to Array and Array to stdClass
I'm afraid you aren't allowed to name objects starting with numerics. Rename the first one "448364" starting with a letter.
The second one is an array, those are to be accessed by brackets like so:
print myVar->highlighting->test_448364->Data[0]
instead
I am using json_decode() something like:
$myVar = json_decode($data)
Which gives me output like this:
[highlighting] => stdClass Object
(
[448364] => stdClass Object
(
[Data] => Array
(
[0] => Tax amount liability is .......
I want to access the string value in the key [0]. When I try to do something like:
print $myVar->highlighting->448364->Data->0;
I get this error:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_DNUMBER
The two numerals/integers there seems to be problem.
Updated for PHP 7.2
PHP 7.2 introduced a behavioral change to converting numeric keys in object and array casts, which fixes this particular inconsistency and makes all the following examples behave as expected.
One less thing to be confused about!
Original answer (applies to versions earlier than 7.2.0)
PHP has its share of dark alleys that you really don't want to find yourself inside. Object properties with names that are numbers is one of them...
What they never told you
Fact #1: You cannot access properties with names that are not legal variable names easily
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->123foo; // error
Fact #2: You can access such properties with curly brace syntax
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->{'123foo'}; // OK!
Fact #3: But not if the property name is all digits!
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->{'123foo'}; // OK!
echo $o->{'123'}; // error!
Live example.
Fact #4: Well, unless the object didn't come from an array in the first place.
$a = array('123' => '123');
$o1 = (object)$a;
$o2 = new stdClass;
$o2->{'123'} = '123'; // setting property is OK
echo $o1->{'123'}; // error!
echo $o2->{'123'}; // works... WTF?
Live example.
Pretty intuitive, don't you agree?
What you can do
Option #1: do it manually
The most practical approach is simply to cast the object you are interested in back into an array, which will allow you to access the properties:
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
$a = (array)$o;
echo $o->{'123'}; // error!
echo $a['123']; // OK!
Unfortunately, this does not work recursively. So in your case you 'd need to do something like:
$highlighting = (array)$myVar->highlighting;
$data = (array)$highlighting['448364']->Data;
$value = $data['0']; // at last!
Option #2: the nuclear option
An alternative approach would be to write a function that converts objects to arrays recursively:
function recursive_cast_to_array($o) {
$a = (array)$o;
foreach ($a as &$value) {
if (is_object($value)) {
$value = recursive_cast_to_array($value);
}
}
return $a;
}
$arr = recursive_cast_to_array($myVar);
$value = $arr['highlighting']['448364']['Data']['0'];
However, I 'm not convinced that this is a better option across the board because it will needlessly cast to arrays all of the properties that you are not interested in as well as those you are.
Option #3: playing it clever
An alternative of the previous option is to use the built-in JSON functions:
$arr = json_decode(json_encode($myVar), true);
$value = $arr['highlighting']['448364']['Data']['0'];
The JSON functions helpfully perform a recursive conversion to array without the need to define any external functions. However desirable this looks, it has the "nuke" disadvantage of option #2 and additionally the disadvantage that if there is any strings inside your object, those strings must be encoded in UTF-8 (this is a requirement of json_encode).
Just wanted to add to Jon's eloquent explanation the reason why this fails. It's all because when creating an array, php converts keys to integers — if it can — which causes lookup problems on arrays which have been cast to objects, simply because the numeric key is preserved. This is problematic because all property access options expect or convert to strings. You can confirm this by doing the following:
$arr = array('123' => 'abc');
$obj = (object) $arr;
$obj->{'123'} = 'abc';
print_r( $obj );
Which would output:
stdClass Object (
[123] => 'abc',
[123] => 'abc'
)
So the object has two property keys, one numeric (which can't be accessed) and one string based. This is the reason why Jon's #Fact 4 works, because by setting the property using curly braces means you always define a string-based key, rather than numeric.
Taking Jon's solution, but turning it on its head, you can generate an object from your array that always has string-based keys by doing the following:
$obj = json_decode(json_encode($arr));
From now on you can use either of the following because access in this manner always converts the value inside the curly brace to a string:
$obj->{123};
$obj->{'123'};
Good old illogical PHP...
For PHP 7
Accessing Object properties having numbers as property name.
Mostly needed after casting array to object.
$arr = [2,3,7];
$o = (object) $arr;
$t = "1";
$t2 = 1;
$t3 = (1);
echo $o->{1}; // 3
echo $o->{'1'}; // 3
echo $o->$t; // 3
echo $o->$t2; // 3
echo $o->$t3; // 3
echo $o->1; // error
echo $o->(1); // error
If an object begins with # like:
SimpleXMLElement Object (
[#attributes] => Array (
[href] => qwertyuiop.html
[id] => html21
[media-type] => application/xhtml+xml
)
)
You have to use:
print_r($parent_object->attributes());
because $parent_object->{'#attributes'} or $parent_object['#attributes'] won't work.
A final alternative to Jon's comprehensive answer:
Simply use json_decode() with the second parameter set to true.
$array = json_decode($url, true);
This then returns an associative array rather than an object so no need to convert after the fact.
This may not be suitable to every application but it really helped me to easily reference a property of the oroginal object.
Solution was found in this tutorial - http://nitschinger.at/Handling-JSON-like-a-boss-in-PHP/
Regards
I had copied this function from the net. If it works as it says ("Function to Convert stdClass Objects to Multidimensional Arrays"), try the following:
<?php
function objectToArray($d) {
if (is_object($d)) {
// Gets the properties of the given object
// with get_object_vars function
$d = get_object_vars($d);
}
if (is_array($d)) {
/*
* Return array converted to object
* Using __FUNCTION__ (Magic constant)
* for recursive call
*/
return array_map(__FUNCTION__, $d);
}
else {
// Return array
return $d;
}
}
?>
first pass your array to objectToArray function
then take the return value
echo [highlighting][448364][Data][0]
Source: PHP stdClass to Array and Array to stdClass
I'm afraid you aren't allowed to name objects starting with numerics. Rename the first one "448364" starting with a letter.
The second one is an array, those are to be accessed by brackets like so:
print myVar->highlighting->test_448364->Data[0]
instead
I am using json_decode() something like:
$myVar = json_decode($data)
Which gives me output like this:
[highlighting] => stdClass Object
(
[448364] => stdClass Object
(
[Data] => Array
(
[0] => Tax amount liability is .......
I want to access the string value in the key [0]. When I try to do something like:
print $myVar->highlighting->448364->Data->0;
I get this error:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_DNUMBER
The two numerals/integers there seems to be problem.
Updated for PHP 7.2
PHP 7.2 introduced a behavioral change to converting numeric keys in object and array casts, which fixes this particular inconsistency and makes all the following examples behave as expected.
One less thing to be confused about!
Original answer (applies to versions earlier than 7.2.0)
PHP has its share of dark alleys that you really don't want to find yourself inside. Object properties with names that are numbers is one of them...
What they never told you
Fact #1: You cannot access properties with names that are not legal variable names easily
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->123foo; // error
Fact #2: You can access such properties with curly brace syntax
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->{'123foo'}; // OK!
Fact #3: But not if the property name is all digits!
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
echo $o->{'123foo'}; // OK!
echo $o->{'123'}; // error!
Live example.
Fact #4: Well, unless the object didn't come from an array in the first place.
$a = array('123' => '123');
$o1 = (object)$a;
$o2 = new stdClass;
$o2->{'123'} = '123'; // setting property is OK
echo $o1->{'123'}; // error!
echo $o2->{'123'}; // works... WTF?
Live example.
Pretty intuitive, don't you agree?
What you can do
Option #1: do it manually
The most practical approach is simply to cast the object you are interested in back into an array, which will allow you to access the properties:
$a = array('123' => '123', '123foo' => '123foo');
$o = (object)$a;
$a = (array)$o;
echo $o->{'123'}; // error!
echo $a['123']; // OK!
Unfortunately, this does not work recursively. So in your case you 'd need to do something like:
$highlighting = (array)$myVar->highlighting;
$data = (array)$highlighting['448364']->Data;
$value = $data['0']; // at last!
Option #2: the nuclear option
An alternative approach would be to write a function that converts objects to arrays recursively:
function recursive_cast_to_array($o) {
$a = (array)$o;
foreach ($a as &$value) {
if (is_object($value)) {
$value = recursive_cast_to_array($value);
}
}
return $a;
}
$arr = recursive_cast_to_array($myVar);
$value = $arr['highlighting']['448364']['Data']['0'];
However, I 'm not convinced that this is a better option across the board because it will needlessly cast to arrays all of the properties that you are not interested in as well as those you are.
Option #3: playing it clever
An alternative of the previous option is to use the built-in JSON functions:
$arr = json_decode(json_encode($myVar), true);
$value = $arr['highlighting']['448364']['Data']['0'];
The JSON functions helpfully perform a recursive conversion to array without the need to define any external functions. However desirable this looks, it has the "nuke" disadvantage of option #2 and additionally the disadvantage that if there is any strings inside your object, those strings must be encoded in UTF-8 (this is a requirement of json_encode).
Just wanted to add to Jon's eloquent explanation the reason why this fails. It's all because when creating an array, php converts keys to integers — if it can — which causes lookup problems on arrays which have been cast to objects, simply because the numeric key is preserved. This is problematic because all property access options expect or convert to strings. You can confirm this by doing the following:
$arr = array('123' => 'abc');
$obj = (object) $arr;
$obj->{'123'} = 'abc';
print_r( $obj );
Which would output:
stdClass Object (
[123] => 'abc',
[123] => 'abc'
)
So the object has two property keys, one numeric (which can't be accessed) and one string based. This is the reason why Jon's #Fact 4 works, because by setting the property using curly braces means you always define a string-based key, rather than numeric.
Taking Jon's solution, but turning it on its head, you can generate an object from your array that always has string-based keys by doing the following:
$obj = json_decode(json_encode($arr));
From now on you can use either of the following because access in this manner always converts the value inside the curly brace to a string:
$obj->{123};
$obj->{'123'};
Good old illogical PHP...
For PHP 7
Accessing Object properties having numbers as property name.
Mostly needed after casting array to object.
$arr = [2,3,7];
$o = (object) $arr;
$t = "1";
$t2 = 1;
$t3 = (1);
echo $o->{1}; // 3
echo $o->{'1'}; // 3
echo $o->$t; // 3
echo $o->$t2; // 3
echo $o->$t3; // 3
echo $o->1; // error
echo $o->(1); // error
If an object begins with # like:
SimpleXMLElement Object (
[#attributes] => Array (
[href] => qwertyuiop.html
[id] => html21
[media-type] => application/xhtml+xml
)
)
You have to use:
print_r($parent_object->attributes());
because $parent_object->{'#attributes'} or $parent_object['#attributes'] won't work.
A final alternative to Jon's comprehensive answer:
Simply use json_decode() with the second parameter set to true.
$array = json_decode($url, true);
This then returns an associative array rather than an object so no need to convert after the fact.
This may not be suitable to every application but it really helped me to easily reference a property of the oroginal object.
Solution was found in this tutorial - http://nitschinger.at/Handling-JSON-like-a-boss-in-PHP/
Regards
I had copied this function from the net. If it works as it says ("Function to Convert stdClass Objects to Multidimensional Arrays"), try the following:
<?php
function objectToArray($d) {
if (is_object($d)) {
// Gets the properties of the given object
// with get_object_vars function
$d = get_object_vars($d);
}
if (is_array($d)) {
/*
* Return array converted to object
* Using __FUNCTION__ (Magic constant)
* for recursive call
*/
return array_map(__FUNCTION__, $d);
}
else {
// Return array
return $d;
}
}
?>
first pass your array to objectToArray function
then take the return value
echo [highlighting][448364][Data][0]
Source: PHP stdClass to Array and Array to stdClass
I'm afraid you aren't allowed to name objects starting with numerics. Rename the first one "448364" starting with a letter.
The second one is an array, those are to be accessed by brackets like so:
print myVar->highlighting->test_448364->Data[0]
instead