Nested PHP arrays to json - php

Question

So my code here:
$featurecollection = ("FeatureCollection");
$test[] = array (
"type" => $featurecollection,
$features[] = array($images)
);
file_put_contents($cache,json_encode($test));
results in the following json:
[
{
"type":"feature",
"0":[
[
{
"title":"some title",
"src":"value",
"lat":"value",
"lon":"value"
},
{
"title":"some title",
...
But I need to nest things differently and I'm perplexed on how the php array should be constructed in order to get a result like:
{
"type":"FeatureCollection",
"features":[
{
"type":"Feature",
"geometry":{
"coordinates":[
-94.34885,
39.35757
],
"type":"Point"
},
"properties":{
"latitude":39.35757,
"title":"Kearney",
"id":919,
"description":"I REALLY need new #converse, lol. I've had these for three years. So #destroyed ! :( Oh well. Can't wait to get a new pair and put my #rainbow laces through. #gay #gaypride #bi #proud #pride #colors #shoes #allstar #supporting ",
"longitude":-94.34885,
"user":"trena1echo5",
"image":"http://images.instagram.com/media/2011/09/09/ddeb9bb508c94f2b8ff848a2d2cd3ece_7.jpg",
"instagram_id":211443415
}
},
What would the php array look like for that? I'm thrown off by the way everything is nested but still has a key value.

Answer 1

Here's how I'd represent that in PHP:
array(
'type' => 'FeatureCollection',
'features' => array(
array(
'type' => 'Feature',
'geometry' => array(
'coordinates' => array(-94.34885, 39.35757),
'type' => 'Point'
), // geometry
'properties' => array(
// latitude, longitude, id etc.
) // properties
), // end of first feature
array( ... ), // etc.
) // features
)
So to get that structure, each feature has to be an associative array of:
type,
geometry - an associative array of:
coordinates - an indexed array of values,
type
properties - an associative array of values like latitude, longitude, id etc.
It's times like these when I prefer languages that distinguish between lists (array(1, 2, 3)) and dictionaries or maps (array('a' => 1, 'b' => 2)).

Answer 2

With PHP 5.4 and above:
$array = [
'type' => 'FeatureCollection',
'features' => [
[
'type' => 'Feature',
'geometry' => [
'coordinates' => [-94.34885, 39.35757],
'type' => 'Point'
], // geometry
'properties' => [
// latitude, longitude, id etc.
] // properties
], // end of first feature
[] // another feature, and so on
] // end of features
];
For the PHP script below:
<?php
header('Content-type=> application/json');
echo json_encode($array);
This is the JSON output;
{
"type": "FeatureCollection",
"features": [
{
"type": "Feature",
"geometry": {
"coordinates": [
-94.34885,
39.35757
],
"type": "Point"
},
"properties": []
},
[]
]
}