Wicked Cool PHP

#5: Turning an Array into a Nonarray Variable That Can Be Restored Later

Although arrays are tremendously useful, there are some places where they're just not welcome. You can't directly store an array inside a cookie or a session, for instance. MySQL and XML can't handle the native PHP array type, either.

Fortunately, there's a way to transform PHP arrays into strings that you can store nearly anywhere: the serialize() function. Here's a script that illustrates how this function works (assume $alacarte is the same as it was in the preceding section):

<?php

$menu = array(
    "appetizer" => "fruit",
    "entree" => "roast beef",
    "dessert" => $alacarte);

$menu_s = serialize($menu); 

echo $menu_s; 

?>

Running this script produces the following output:

PEa:3:{s:9:"appetizer";s:5:"fruit";s:6:"entree";s:10:"roast ...