Convert a PHP object to an associative array - php

Question

I'm integrating an API to my website which works with data stored in objects while my code is written using arrays.
I'd like a quick-and-dirty function to convert an object to an array.

Answer 1

Just typecast it
$array = (array) $yourObject;
From Arrays:
If an object is converted to an array, the result is an array whose elements are the object's properties. The keys are the member variable names, with a few notable exceptions: integer properties are unaccessible; private variables have the class name prepended to the variable name; protected variables have a '*' prepended to the variable name. These prepended values have null bytes on either side.
Example: Simple Object
$object = new StdClass;
$object->foo = 1;
$object->bar = 2;
var_dump( (array) $object );
Output:
array(2) {
'foo' => int(1)
'bar' => int(2)
}
Example: Complex Object
class Foo
{
private $foo;
protected $bar;
public $baz;
public function __construct()
{
$this->foo = 1;
$this->bar = 2;
$this->baz = new StdClass;
}
}
var_dump( (array) new Foo );
Output (with \0s edited in for clarity):
array(3) {
'\0Foo\0foo' => int(1)
'\0*\0bar' => int(2)
'baz' => class stdClass#2 (0) {}
}
Output with var_export instead of var_dump:
array (
'' . "\0" . 'Foo' . "\0" . 'foo' => 1,
'' . "\0" . '*' . "\0" . 'bar' => 2,
'baz' =>
stdClass::__set_state(array(
)),
)
Typecasting this way will not do deep casting of the object graph and you need to apply the null bytes (as explained in the manual quote) to access any non-public attributes. So this works best when casting StdClass objects or objects with only public properties. For quick and dirty (what you asked for) it's fine.
Also see this in-depth blog post:
Fast PHP Object to Array conversion

Answer 2

You can quickly convert deeply nested objects to associative arrays by relying on the behavior of the JSON encode/decode functions:
$array = json_decode(json_encode($nested_object), true);

Answer 3

From the first Google hit for "PHP object to assoc array" we have this:
function object_to_array($data)
{
if (is_array($data) || is_object($data))
{
$result = [];
foreach ($data as $key => $value)
{
$result[$key] = (is_array($value) || is_object($value)) ? object_to_array($value) : $value;
}
return $result;
}
return $data;
}
The source is at codesnippets.joyent.com.
To compare it to the solution of json_decode & json_encode, this one seems faster. Here is a random benchmark (using the simple time measuring):
$obj = (object) [
'name' =>'Mike',
'surname' =>'Jovanson',
'age' =>'45',
'time' =>1234567890,
'country' =>'Germany',
];
##### 100 000 cycles ######
* json_decode(json_encode($var)) : 4.15 sec
* object_to_array($var) : 0.93 sec

Answer 4

If your object properties are public you can do:
$array = (array) $object;
If they are private or protected, they will have weird key names on the array. So, in this case you will need the following function:
function dismount($object) {
$reflectionClass = new ReflectionClass(get_class($object));
$array = array();
foreach ($reflectionClass->getProperties() as $property) {
$property->setAccessible(true);
$array[$property->getName()] = $property->getValue($object);
$property->setAccessible(false);
}
return $array;
}

Answer 5

What about get_object_vars($obj)? It seems useful if you only want to access the public properties of an object.
See get_object_vars.

Answer 6

class Test{
const A = 1;
public $b = 'two';
private $c = test::A;
public function __toArray(){
return call_user_func('get_object_vars', $this);
}
}
$my_test = new Test();
var_dump((array)$my_test);
var_dump($my_test->__toArray());
Output
array(2) {
["b"]=>
string(3) "two"
["Testc"]=>
int(1)
}
array(1) {
["b"]=>
string(3) "two"
}

Answer 7

Type cast your object to an array.
$arr = (array) $Obj;
It will solve your problem.

Answer 8

Here is some code:
function object_to_array($data) {
if ((! is_array($data)) and (! is_object($data)))
return 'xxx'; // $data;
$result = array();
$data = (array) $data;
foreach ($data as $key => $value) {
if (is_object($value))
$value = (array) $value;
if (is_array($value))
$result[$key] = object_to_array($value);
else
$result[$key] = $value;
}
return $result;
}

Answer 9

All other answers posted here are only working with public attributes. Here is one solution that works with JavaBeans-like objects using reflection and getters:
function entity2array($entity, $recursionDepth = 2) {
$result = array();
$class = new ReflectionClass(get_class($entity));
foreach ($class->getMethods(ReflectionMethod::IS_PUBLIC) as $method) {
$methodName = $method->name;
if (strpos($methodName, "get") === 0 && strlen($methodName) > 3) {
$propertyName = lcfirst(substr($methodName, 3));
$value = $method->invoke($entity);
if (is_object($value)) {
if ($recursionDepth > 0) {
$result[$propertyName] = $this->entity2array($value, $recursionDepth - 1);
}
else {
$result[$propertyName] = "***"; // Stop recursion
}
}
else {
$result[$propertyName] = $value;
}
}
}
return $result;
}

Answer 10

To convert an object into array just cast it explicitly:
$name_of_array = (array) $name_of_object;

Answer 11

You can also create a function in PHP to convert an object array:
function object_to_array($object) {
return (array) $object;
}

Answer 12

Use:
function readObject($object) {
$name = get_class ($object);
$name = str_replace('\\', "\\\\", $name); // Outcomment this line, if you don't use
// class namespaces approach in your project
$raw = (array)$object;
$attributes = array();
foreach ($raw as $attr => $val) {
$attributes[preg_replace('('.$name.'|\*|)', '', $attr)] = $val;
}
return $attributes;
}
It returns an array without special characters and class names.

Answer 13

You can easily use this function to get the result:
function objetToArray($adminBar){
$reflector = new ReflectionObject($adminBar);
$nodes = $reflector->getProperties();
$out = [];
foreach ($nodes as $node) {
$nod = $reflector->getProperty($node->getName());
$nod->setAccessible(true);
$out[$node->getName()] = $nod->getValue($adminBar);
}
return $out;
}
Use PHP 5 or later.

Answer 14

Short solution of #SpYk3HH
function objectToArray($o)
{
$a = array();
foreach ($o as $k => $v)
$a[$k] = (is_array($v) || is_object($v)) ? objectToArray($v): $v;
return $a;
}

Answer 15

Here is my recursive PHP function to convert PHP objects to an associative array:
// ---------------------------------------------------------
// ----- object_to_array_recursive --- function (PHP) ------
// ---------------------------------------------------------
// --- arg1: -- $object = PHP Object - required --
// --- arg2: -- $assoc = TRUE or FALSE - optional --
// --- arg3: -- $empty = '' (Empty String) - optional --
// ---------------------------------------------------------
// ----- Return: Array from Object --- (associative) -------
// ---------------------------------------------------------
function object_to_array_recursive($object, $assoc=TRUE, $empty='')
{
$res_arr = array();
if (!empty($object)) {
$arrObj = is_object($object) ? get_object_vars($object) : $object;
$i=0;
foreach ($arrObj as $key => $val) {
$akey = ($assoc !== FALSE) ? $key : $i;
if (is_array($val) || is_object($val)) {
$res_arr[$akey] = (empty($val)) ? $empty : object_to_array_recursive($val);
}
else {
$res_arr[$akey] = (empty($val)) ? $empty : (string)$val;
}
$i++;
}
}
return $res_arr;
}
// ---------------------------------------------------------
// ---------------------------------------------------------
Usage example:
// ---- Return associative array from object, ... use:
$new_arr1 = object_to_array_recursive($my_object);
// -- or --
// $new_arr1 = object_to_array_recursive($my_object, TRUE);
// -- or --
// $new_arr1 = object_to_array_recursive($my_object, 1);
// ---- Return numeric array from object, ... use:
$new_arr2 = object_to_array_recursive($my_object, FALSE);

Answer 16

Custom function to convert stdClass to an array:
function objectToArray($d) {
if (is_object($d)) {
// Gets the properties of the given object
// with get_object_vars function
$d = get_object_vars($d);
}
if (is_array($d)) {
/*
* Return array converted to object
* Using __FUNCTION__ (Magic constant)
* for recursive call
*/
return array_map(__FUNCTION__, $d);
} else {
// Return array
return $d;
}
}
Another custom function to convert Array to stdClass:
function arrayToObject($d) {
if (is_array($d)) {
/*
* Return array converted to object
* Using __FUNCTION__ (Magic constant)
* for recursive call
*/
return (object) array_map(__FUNCTION__, $d);
} else {
// Return object
return $d;
}
}
Usage Example:
// Create new stdClass Object
$init = new stdClass;
// Add some test data
$init->foo = "Test data";
$init->bar = new stdClass;
$init->bar->baaz = "Testing";
$init->bar->fooz = new stdClass;
$init->bar->fooz->baz = "Testing again";
$init->foox = "Just test";
// Convert array to object and then object back to array
$array = objectToArray($init);
$object = arrayToObject($array);
// Print objects and array
print_r($init);
echo "\n";
print_r($array);
echo "\n";
print_r($object);

Answer 17

First of all, if you need an array from an object you probably should constitute the data as an array first. Think about it.
Don't use a foreach statement or JSON transformations. If you're planning this, again you're working with a data structure, not with an object.
If you really need it use an object-oriented approach to have a clean and maintainable code. For example:
Object as array
class PersonArray implements \ArrayAccess, \IteratorAggregate
{
public function __construct(Person $person) {
$this->person = $person;
}
// ...
}
If you need all properties, use a transfer object:
class PersonTransferObject
{
private $person;
public function __construct(Person $person) {
$this->person = $person;
}
public function toArray() {
return [
// 'name' => $this->person->getName();
];
}
}

Answer 18

Also you can use The Symfony Serializer Component
use Symfony\Component\Serializer\Encoder\JsonEncoder;
use Symfony\Component\Serializer\Normalizer\ObjectNormalizer;
use Symfony\Component\Serializer\Serializer;
$serializer = new Serializer([new ObjectNormalizer()], [new JsonEncoder()]);
$array = json_decode($serializer->serialize($object, 'json'), true);

Answer 19

You might want to do this when you obtain data as objects from databases:
// Suppose 'result' is the end product from some query $query
$result = $mysqli->query($query);
$result = db_result_to_array($result);
function db_result_to_array($result)
{
$res_array = array();
for ($count=0; $row = $result->fetch_assoc(); $count++)
$res_array[$count] = $row;
return $res_array;
}

Answer 20

This answer is only the union of the different answers of this post, but it's the solution to convert a PHP object with public or private properties with simple values or arrays to an associative array...
function object_to_array($obj)
{
if (is_object($obj))
$obj = (array)$this->dismount($obj);
if (is_array($obj)) {
$new = array();
foreach ($obj as $key => $val) {
$new[$key] = $this->object_to_array($val);
}
}
else
$new = $obj;
return $new;
}
function dismount($object)
{
$reflectionClass = new \ReflectionClass(get_class($object));
$array = array();
foreach ($reflectionClass->getProperties() as $property) {
$property->setAccessible(true);
$array[$property->getName()] = $property->getValue($object);
$property->setAccessible(false);
}
return $array;
}

Answer 21

Some impovements to the "well-knwon" code
/*** mixed Obj2Array(mixed Obj)***************************************/
static public function Obj2Array($_Obj) {
if (is_object($_Obj))
$_Obj = get_object_vars($_Obj);
return(is_array($_Obj) ? array_map(__METHOD__, $_Obj) : $_Obj);
} // BW_Conv::Obj2Array
Notice that if the function is member of a class (like above) you must change __FUNCTION__ to __METHOD__

Answer 22

For your case it was right/beautiful if you would use the "decorator" or "date model transformation" patterns. For example:
Your model
class Car {
/** #var int */
private $color;
/** #var string */
private $model;
/** #var string */
private $type;
/**
* #return int
*/
public function getColor(): int
{
return $this->color;
}
/**
* #param int $color
* #return Car
*/
public function setColor(int $color): Car
{
$this->color = $color;
return $this;
}
/**
* #return string
*/
public function getModel(): string
{
return $this->model;
}
/**
* #param string $model
* #return Car
*/
public function setModel(string $model): Car
{
$this->model = $model;
return $this;
}
/**
* #return string
*/
public function getType(): string
{
return $this->type;
}
/**
* #param string $type
* #return Car
*/
public function setType(string $type): Car
{
$this->type = $type;
return $this;
}
}
Decorator
class CarArrayDecorator
{
/** #var Car */
private $car;
/**
* CarArrayDecorator constructor.
* #param Car $car
*/
public function __construct(Car $car)
{
$this->car = $car;
}
/**
* #return array
*/
public function getArray(): array
{
return [
'color' => $this->car->getColor(),
'type' => $this->car->getType(),
'model' => $this->car->getModel(),
];
}
}
Usage
$car = new Car();
$car->setType('type#');
$car->setModel('model#1');
$car->setColor(255);
$carDecorator = new CarArrayDecorator($car);
$carResponseData = $carDecorator->getArray();
So it will be more beautiful and more correct code.

Answer 23

Converting and removing annoying stars:
$array = (array) $object;
foreach($array as $key => $val)
{
$new_array[str_replace('*_', '', $key)] = $val;
}
Probably, it will be cheaper than using reflections.

Answer 24

I use this (needed recursive solution with proper keys):
/**
* This method returns the array corresponding to an object, including non public members.
*
* If the deep flag is true, is will operate recursively, otherwise (if false) just at the first level.
*
* #param object $obj
* #param bool $deep = true
* #return array
* #throws \Exception
*/
public static function objectToArray(object $obj, bool $deep = true)
{
$reflectionClass = new \ReflectionClass(get_class($obj));
$array = [];
foreach ($reflectionClass->getProperties() as $property) {
$property->setAccessible(true);
$val = $property->getValue($obj);
if (true === $deep && is_object($val)) {
$val = self::objectToArray($val);
}
$array[$property->getName()] = $val;
$property->setAccessible(false);
}
return $array;
}
Example of usage, the following code:
class AA{
public $bb = null;
protected $one = 11;
}
class BB{
protected $two = 22;
}
$a = new AA();
$b = new BB();
$a->bb = $b;
var_dump($a)
Will print this:
array(2) {
["bb"] => array(1) {
["two"] => int(22)
}
["one"] => int(11)
}

Answer 25

There's my proposal, if you have objects in objects with even private members:
public function dismount($object) {
$reflectionClass = new \ReflectionClass(get_class($object));
$array = array();
foreach ($reflectionClass->getProperties() as $property) {
$property->setAccessible(true);
if (is_object($property->getValue($object))) {
$array[$property->getName()] = $this->dismount($property->getValue($object));
} else {
$array[$property->getName()] = $property->getValue($object);
}
$property->setAccessible(false);
}
return $array;
}

Answer 26

Since a lot of people find this question because of having trouble with dynamically access attributes of an object, I will just point out that you can do this in PHP: $valueRow->{"valueName"}
In context (removed HTML output for readability):
$valueRows = json_decode("{...}"); // Rows of unordered values decoded from a JSON object
foreach ($valueRows as $valueRow) {
foreach ($references as $reference) {
if (isset($valueRow->{$reference->valueName})) {
$tableHtml .= $valueRow->{$reference->valueName};
}
else {
$tableHtml .= " ";
}
}
}

Answer 27

I think it is a nice idea to use traits to store object-to-array converting logic. A simple example:
trait ArrayAwareTrait
{
/**
* Return list of Entity's parameters
* #return array
*/
public function toArray()
{
$props = array_flip($this->getPropertiesList());
return array_map(
function ($item) {
if ($item instanceof \DateTime) {
return $item->format(DATE_ATOM);
}
return $item;
},
array_filter(get_object_vars($this), function ($key) use ($props) {
return array_key_exists($key, $props);
}, ARRAY_FILTER_USE_KEY)
);
}
/**
* #return array
*/
protected function getPropertiesList()
{
if (method_exists($this, '__sleep')) {
return $this->__sleep();
}
if (defined('static::PROPERTIES')) {
return static::PROPERTIES;
}
return [];
}
}
class OrderResponse
{
use ArrayAwareTrait;
const PROP_ORDER_ID = 'orderId';
const PROP_TITLE = 'title';
const PROP_QUANTITY = 'quantity';
const PROP_BUYER_USERNAME = 'buyerUsername';
const PROP_COST_VALUE = 'costValue';
const PROP_ADDRESS = 'address';
private $orderId;
private $title;
private $quantity;
private $buyerUsername;
private $costValue;
private $address;
/**
* #param $orderId
* #param $title
* #param $quantity
* #param $buyerUsername
* #param $costValue
* #param $address
*/
public function __construct(
$orderId,
$title,
$quantity,
$buyerUsername,
$costValue,
$address
) {
$this->orderId = $orderId;
$this->title = $title;
$this->quantity = $quantity;
$this->buyerUsername = $buyerUsername;
$this->costValue = $costValue;
$this->address = $address;
}
/**
* #inheritDoc
*/
public function __sleep()
{
return [
static::PROP_ORDER_ID,
static::PROP_TITLE,
static::PROP_QUANTITY,
static::PROP_BUYER_USERNAME,
static::PROP_COST_VALUE,
static::PROP_ADDRESS,
];
}
/**
* #return mixed
*/
public function getOrderId()
{
return $this->orderId;
}
/**
* #return mixed
*/
public function getTitle()
{
return $this->title;
}
/**
* #return mixed
*/
public function getQuantity()
{
return $this->quantity;
}
/**
* #return mixed
*/
public function getBuyerUsername()
{
return $this->buyerUsername;
}
/**
* #return mixed
*/
public function getCostValue()
{
return $this->costValue;
}
/**
* #return string
*/
public function getAddress()
{
return $this->address;
}
}
$orderResponse = new OrderResponse(...);
var_dump($orderResponse->toArray());

Answer 28

$Menu = new Admin_Model_DbTable_Menu();
$row = $Menu->fetchRow($Menu->select()->where('id = ?', $id));
$Addmenu = new Admin_Form_Addmenu();
$Addmenu->populate($row->toArray());

Answer 29

Here I've made an objectToArray() method, which also works with recursive objects, like when $objectA contains $objectB which points again to $objectA.
Additionally I've restricted the output to public properties using ReflectionClass. Get rid of it, if you don't need it.
/**
* Converts given object to array, recursively.
* Just outputs public properties.
*
* #param object|array $object
* #return array|string
*/
protected function objectToArray($object) {
if (in_array($object, $this->usedObjects, TRUE)) {
return '**recursive**';
}
if (is_array($object) || is_object($object)) {
if (is_object($object)) {
$this->usedObjects[] = $object;
}
$result = array();
$reflectorClass = new \ReflectionClass(get_class($this));
foreach ($object as $key => $value) {
if ($reflectorClass->hasProperty($key) && $reflectorClass->getProperty($key)->isPublic()) {
$result[$key] = $this->objectToArray($value);
}
}
return $result;
}
return $object;
}
To identify already used objects, I am using a protected property in this (abstract) class, named $this->usedObjects. If a recursive nested object is found, it will be replaced by the string **recursive**. Otherwise it would fail in because of infinite loop.

Answer 30

By using typecasting you can resolve your problem.
Just add the following lines to your return object:
$arrObj = array(yourReturnedObject);
You can also add a new key and value pair to it by using:
$arrObj['key'] = value;