How to process complex json object in PHP - php

Question

I have a working PHP app running in Bluemix that I want to extend to call a RESTful service (Insights for Twitter). I've been able to call the service, retrieve the json body, and use json_decode as follows to create an array:
$insightList = json_decode($guzzleResponse ->getBody(), true);
However, I can't figure out how to get access to the field I'm interested in. I've searched for solution on the web and tried a few approaches that looked promising, but when I tried to integrate them, I couldn't get them to work. I'm a bit of a PHP novice, so if something doesn't work I'm not sure how to proceed.
The json structure is quite complex, with three top-level arrays - search, tweets, and next. I'm interested in the second of these, tweets. It's a pretty complex array - there is one entry per tweet. The field I want right now is tweets.cde.message.body. You can find the full schema here: https://cdeservice.eu-gb.mybluemix.net/rest-api/#!/messages/getTweets
This is the code I have so far:
foreach($insightList as $cde) {
foreach($cde as $message) {
$insight = $message['body'];
if(strlen($insight) > 60) {
$posts[] = array(
'id' => 99999999,
//Temp; remove links from the text
'text' => $insight,
'category' => $insightCategory,
'image' => 'false'
);
}
}
}
Here's a print_r of $insightList:
[search] => Array (
[results] => 28
[current] => 28
)
[tweets] => Array (
[0] => Array (
[cde] => Array (
[author] => Array (
[gender] => male
[parenthood] => Array (
[isParent] => unknown
)
[location] => Array (
[country] =>
)
[maritalStatus] => Array (
[isMarried] => unknown
)
)
[content] => Array (
[sentiment] => Array (
[evidence] => Array ( )
[polarity] => NEUTRAL
)
)
)
[message] => Array (
[postedTime] => 2015-01-13T09:42:16.000Z
[verb] => share
[link] => http://twitter.com/zWDOM/statuses/554936456477933569
[generator] => Array (
[displayName] => Twitter Web Client
[link] => http://twitter.com
)
[body] => RT #VisualSuccess: "Mainframe & Cloud" Magazine wurde soeben publiziert! http://www.twitter.com #zWDOM #Rocket #JohnKnutson_IBM
[favoritesCount] => 0
[objectType] => activity
[actor] => Array (
[summary] => Seit über 25 Jahren im Mainframebereich, derzeit als Senior Consultant und IT Architekt für zEnterprise und Projektmanager beim IBM BP Cancom in Köln
[image] => https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/424202233463308288/XQquUcnh_normal.jpeg
[statusesCount] => 2309
[utcOffset] => 3600
[languages] => Array (
[0] => de
)
[preferredUsername] => zWDOM
[displayName] => Willi Domroese
[postedTime] => 2009-12-17T01:39:25.000Z
[link] => http://www.twitter.com/zWDOM
[verified] =>
)
[provider] => Array (
[displayName] => Twitter
[link] => http://www.twitter.com
[objectType] => service
)
[twitter_filter_level] => medium
[twitter_entities] => Array (
[urls] => Array (
[0] => Array (
[display_url] => ln.is/paper.li/visua…
[indices] => Array (
[0] => 77
[1] => 99
)
[expanded_url] => http://ln.is/paper.li/visualsucce/7zYNk
[url] => http://www.twitter.com
)
)
[hashtags] => Array ( )
[user_mentions] => Array (
[0] => Array (
[indices] => Array (
[0] => 3
[1] => 17
)
[screen_name] => VisualSuccess
[id_str] => 213337792
[name] => Predrag Gasic
[id] => 213337792
)
[1] => Array (
[indices] => Array (
[0] => 101
[1] => 107
)
[screen_name] => zWDOM
[id_str] => 97334013
[name] => Willi Domroese
[id] => 97334013
)
[2] => Array (
[indices] => Array (
[0] => 108
[1] => 115
)
[screen_name] => Rocket
[id_str] => 870584947
[name] => Rocket Software
[id] => 870584947
)
[3] => Array (
[indices] => Array (
[0] => 116
[1] => 132
)
[screen_name] => JohnKnutson_IBM
[id_str] => 16452310
[name] => John Knutson
[id] => 16452310
)
)
[trends] => Array ( )
[symbols] => Array ( )
)
[twitter_lang] => de
[id] => tag:search.twitter.com,2005:554936456477933569
[retweetCount] => 1
[gnip] => Array (
[urls] => Array (
[0] => Array (
[expanded_url] => http://linkis.com/paper.li/visualsucce/7zYNk
[expanded_status] => 200
[url] => http://www.twitter.com
)
)
[language] => Array (
[value] => de
)
)
[object] => Array (
[postedTime] => 2015-01-13T08:04:48.000Z
[verb] => post
[link] => http://twitter.com/VisualSuccess/statuses/554911928527888384
[generator] => Array (
[displayName] => Linkis.com
[link] => http://linkis.com
)
[body] => "Mainframe & Cloud" Magazine wurde soeben publiziert! http://www.twitter.com ://www.twitter.com
[objectType] => activity
[actor] => Array (
[summary] => Ù† (N), Wirtschaftsinformatiker | SAP Consultant Logistics #bigdata #appdevelopment #webdesign #eCommerce #SocialMedia #contentmarketing #SmartHome #Journal
[image] => https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/2841607223/959b0d23646b1f24bd7b70deac160e2f_normal.jpeg
[statusesCount] => 14185
[utcOffset] => 3600
[languages] => Array (
[0] => de
)
[preferredUsername] => VisualSuccess
[displayName] => Predrag Gasic
[postedTime] => 2010-11-08T17:19:27.000Z
[link] => http://www.twitter.com/VisualSuccess
[verified] =>
)
[provider] => Array (
[displayName] => Twitter
[link] => http://www.twitter.com
[objectType] => service
)
[twitter_filter_level] => low
[twitter_entities] => Array (
[urls] => Array (
[0] => Array (
[display_url] => ln.is/paper.li/visua…
[indices] => Array (
[0] => 58
[1] => 80
)
[expanded_url] => http://ln.is/paper.li/visualsucce/7zYNk
[url] => http://www.twitter.com
)
)
[hashtags] => Array ( )
[user_mentions] => Array (
[0] => Array (
[indices] => Array (
[0] => 82
[1] => 88
)
[screen_name] => zWDOM
[id_str] => 97334013
[name] => Willi Domroese
[id] => 97334013
)
[1] => Array (
[indices] => Array (
[0] => 89
[1] => 96
)
[screen_name] => Rocket
[id_str] => 870584947
[name] => Rocket Software
[id] => 870584947
)
[2] => Array (
[indices] => Array (
[0] => 97
[1] => 113
)
[screen_name] => JohnKnutson_IBM
[id_str] => 16452310
[name] => John Knutson
[id] => 16452310
)
)
[trends] => Array ( )
[symbols] => Array (
)
)
)
)
)
Answers to this question would be greatly appreciated

Answer 1

Iterating $insightList will not get you to the cde level. And you don't actually want the cde; you want the message.
Just iterate the tweets. You don't need a foreach to get keyed info from a PHP array.
foreach($insightList['tweets'] as $tweet) {
$insight = $tweet['message']['body'];
if(strlen($insight) > 60) {
$posts[] = array(
'id' => 99999999,
//Temp; remove links from the text
'text' => $insight,
'category' => $insightCategory,
'image' => 'false'
);
}
}

Answer 2

It looks to me from your print_r that what you want is at:
echo $insightList[0]['message']['body'];
When there's a section like this [some_key], then 'some_key' is an associative array key, and you can access those elements be they additional arrays or a value, using the key name, as I illustrated here.