http_build_query() dot is converted to underscore - php

Question

Please check the below array:
Array([bunrey] => Array ([0] => 20130730181908615391000000)
[mt.shasta] => Array (
[0] => 20130708203742347410000000
[1] => 20130213201456984069000000
[2] => 20130712144459481348000000
)
[shingletwon] => Array
(
[0] => 20130801233842122771000000
)
)
I want to send this array as query string using http_build_query(),
I got the below string after using http_build_query():
bunrey%5B0%5D=20130730181908615391000000&mt.shasta%5B0%5D=20130708203742347410000000&mt.shasta%5B1%5D=20130213201456984069000000&mt.shasta%5B2%5D=20130712144459481348000000&shingletwon%5B0%5D=20130801233842122771000000
As you can see after sending this query string to some other file, there I am trying to retrieve. I had echoed the $_REQUEST object:
Array (
[bunrey] => Array
(
[0] => 20130730181908615391000000
)
[mt_shasta] => Array
(
[0] => 20130708203742347410000000
[1] => 20130213201456984069000000
[2] => 20130712144459481348000000
)
[shingletwon] => Array
(
[0] => 20130801233842122771000000
)
)
please check one of the key mr.shasta had changed to mr_shasta.
Can you people please provide any solution for this.

Answer 1

This is the standard PHP behaviour. Points are converted in underscores when used as array keys in a POST request.
From the documentation:
Dots and spaces in variable names are converted to underscores. For
example < input name="a.b" /> becomes $_REQUEST["a_b"].
The only solution is: stop using spaces and/or dots in array keys when using them in POST requests or, else, operate a string replace on every array key your receive.
$post = array();
foreach ($_POST as $key => $value)
$post[str_replace("_", ".", $key)] = $value;
Note that the code above would fix only the problem of . (converted to _) but not spaces. Also, if you have any _ in your original key this would be converted to . as well (as pointed out in the comments).
As you can see, the only real solution is to avoid . and spaces in $_POST keys. They just can't be received, not with PHP (and not with other server-side solutions that I know of): you'll loose that information.
No, this is not a limitation or a crap feature: this is a programming guideline. If you're using array keys names for something more than what you would normally do with a variable name, you're most likely doing something conceptually wrong (and I've done it many times too).
Just to give you an example on how wrong is that: in some programming solutions like asp.net-mvc (and, I think, codeigniter too) POST/GET requests are supposed to be mapped over functions in what's called a "controller". Which means that if you send a POST which looks like ["myKey" => "myValue", "myOtherKey" => "someValue"] you should then have a function which takes keys as arguments.
function(String myKey, String myOtherKey){ }
PHP have no default "on-top" framework (that I know of) which do this: it allows you to access $_POST directly. Cool: but this toy can breake easely. Use it with caution.

Answer 2

I may be wrong here, but I've replicated what you're doing and have found it depends how you assign the array as to whether or not it changes the key like this:
//doesn't change to mt_shasta
$array['bunrey'][0] = 20130730181908615391000000;
$array['bunrey']['mt.shasta'][0] = 20130708203742347410000000;
$array['bunrey']['mt.shasta'][1] = 20130708203742347410000000;
$array['bunrey']['mt.shasta'][2] = 20130708203742347410000000;
$array['bunrey']['shingletwon'][0] = 20130708203742347410000000;
//does change to mt_shasta
$array = array (
'0' => 20130730181908615391000000,
'mt.shasta' => array (
0 => 20130708203742347410000000,
1 => 20130213201456984069000000,
2 => 20130712144459481348000000,
),
'shingletwon' => array
(
0 => 20130801233842122771000000,
),
);