Apply html_entity_decode to objects and arrays using recursion - php

Question

I'm trying to build a function that will apply html_entity_decode to objects and arrays. Since I don't know the structure beforehand, and the child properties can also be objects or arrays, a simple recursive function seemed to be the way to go. I'm unable to figure out why the following does not work:
function decode($data){
if(is_object($data) || is_array($data)){
foreach($data as &$value)
$value = $this->decode($value);
}
else $data = html_entity_decode($data);
return $data;
}
I have also tried the following, which doesn't work either:
function decode($data){
if(is_object($data))
$data = get_object_vars($data);
$data = is_array($data) ? array_map(array('MyClassName', 'decode'), $data) : html_entity_decode($data);
return $data;
}
Neither function has any affect on the data. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

The main issue is that you are trying to work with object like array is_object($data) || is_array($data) would not really work except you convert the object to array
Other Issues are base on incorrect variable name and not returning the proper variable You can try
$std = new stdClass();
$std->title = array("x" => "<a>XXX</a>","y" => "<b>YYY</b>");
$std->body = "<p> THis is the Body </p>";
$var = array(
"a" => "I'll \"walk\" the <b>dog</b> now",
"b" => array("<b>Hello World</b>",array(array("Yes am <strong> baba </strong>"))),
"c" => $std
);
$class = new MyClassName();
$encode = $class->encode($var); // encode
$decode = $class->decode($encode); // decode it back
print_r($encode);
print_r($decode);
Encoded Array
Array
(
[a] => I'll "walk" the <b>dog</b> now
[b] => Array
(
[0] => <b>Hello World</b>
[1] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[0] => Yes am <strong> baba </strong>
)
)
)
[c] => stdClass Object
(
[title] => Array
(
[x] => <a>XXX</a>
[y] => <b>YYY</b>
)
[body] => <p> THis is the Body </p>
)
)
Decoded Array
Array
(
[a] => I'll "walk" the <b>dog</b> now
[b] => Array
(
[0] => <b>Hello World</b>
[1] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[0] => Yes am <strong> baba </strong>
)
)
)
[c] => stdClass Object
(
[title] => Array
(
[x] => <a>XXX</a>
[y] => <b>YYY</b>
)
[body] => <p> THis is the Body </p>
)
)
See Live Demo
class MyClassName {
function encode($data) {
if (is_array($data)) {
return array_map(array($this,'encode'), $data);
}
if (is_object($data)) {
$tmp = clone $data; // avoid modifing original object
foreach ( $data as $k => $var )
$tmp->{$k} = $this->encode($var);
return $tmp;
}
return htmlentities($data);
}
function decode($data) {
if (is_array($data)) {
return array_map(array($this,'decode'), $data);
}
if (is_object($data)) {
$tmp = clone $data; // avoid modifing original object
foreach ( $data as $k => $var )
$tmp->{$k} = $this->decode($var);
return $tmp;
}
return html_entity_decode($data);
}
}

Answer 2

What exactly do you want to do: replace existing values with html entity decoded values or make a copy of the whole data structure with encoded values?
If you want to replace then you should pass function argument by reference:
function decode( &$data ){
If you want to make a copy -- it should work the way it is (or please explain what exactly do you mean by "the following does not work").

Answer 3

What about array-walk-recursive:
http://php.net/manual/en/function.array-walk-recursive.php
perhaps something like this:
function decode($data){
$data = html_entity_decode($data);
}
function decode_data($data){
if(is_object($data) || is_array($data)){
array_walk_recursive($data, 'decode');
}else{
$data = html_entity_decode($data);
}
return $data;
}