Get JSON data from external form in codeigniter - php

Question

I have an external web form which posts data to my controller URL. The data is sent in a JSON string.
What I need to do is get the individual values in the JSON string and add them to my database. However I'm having some trouble getting the posted values and decoding them.
Here is the code which I tried - any help would be much appreciated Thanks.
public function index() {
$this->load->view('lead');
$form_data = array(
'firstname' => json_decode($this->input->post('first_name')),
'lastname' =>json_decode($this->input->post('last_name')),
'number' =>json_decode($this->input->post('phone_number')),
'email' =>json_decode($this->input->post('email')),
'suburb' =>json_decode($this->input->post('suburb')),
'state' =>json_decode($this->input->post('state')),
'enquiry' =>json_decode($this->input->post('enquiry'))
);
// run insert model to write data to db
if ($this->AddLeadModel->SaveForm($form_data) == TRUE) // the information has therefore been successfully saved in the db { //Do something if successful }

Answer 1

Do not json_decode the individual form fields.
You have to json_decode the incoming field with the json instead,
then use the array data to populate the form again.
In easy words: You from fields were stuffed into an array on JS side, then json_encoded for transfer to the server. Now you need to expand the json to get the array back.
// decode the incomning json
// you get an array
$json_array = json_decode($this->input->post('the_form_field_name_of_your_json'));
// now assign the array data to the form
$form_data = array(
'firstname' => $json_array['first_name'],
...
...
);

Answer 2

try this:
$json = file_get_contents('php://input');
$input_data = json_decode($json, TRUE);

Answer 3

Will explain with an example (THIS WORKS):
// Assuming the values you are getting via POST
$first_name = '{"first_name" : "Parag"}';
$last_name = '{"last_name" : "Tyagi"}';
$phone_number = '{"phone_number" : "9999999999"}';
$form_data['firstname'] = json_decode($first_name, TRUE)['first_name'];
$form_data['lastname'] = json_decode($last_name, TRUE)['last_name'];
$form_data['number'] = json_decode($phone_number, TRUE)['phone_number'];
print_r($form_data);
DEMO:
http://3v4l.org/dmIrr
Now check below (THIS WON'T WORK):
// Assuming the values you are getting via POST
$first_name = "{'first_name' : 'Parag'}";
$last_name = "{'last_name' : 'Tyagi'}";
$phone_number = "{'phone_number' : '9999999999'}";
$form_data['firstname'] = json_decode($first_name, TRUE)['first_name'];
$form_data['lastname'] = json_decode($last_name, TRUE)['last_name'];
$form_data['number'] = json_decode($phone_number, TRUE)['phone_number'];
print_r($form_data);
DEMO:
http://3v4l.org/MeJoU
Explanation:
If you pass the JSON in your post to json_decode, it will fail. Valid JSON strings have quoted keys. Hence check your case and see in what format are you getting the JSON (via POST).