Create multi level JSON in php

Question

I want to know how to create a JSON array like this in php...

{  
   "roster1":{  
      "player0":{  
         "sport":"NFL",
         "firstname":"Tyrod",
         "lastname":"Taylor"
      },
      "player1":{  
         "sport":"NFL",
         "firstname":"Lamar",
         "lastname":"Miller"
      }
   }
   "roster2":{  
      "player0":{  
         "sport":"NFL",
         "firstname":"Carson",
         "lastname":"Palmer"
      },
      "player1":{  
         "sport":"NFL",
         "firstname":"David",
         "lastname":"Johnson"
      }
   }
}

I know it has to be some sort of multi-dimension array I'm assuming? I've tried something like...

$obj = new stdClass();
$y = 1;


$players["player".$x]['sport'] = "NFL";
$players["player".$x]['firstname'] = "Tyrod";
$players["player".$x]['lastname'] = "Taylor";
$x++;
    $players["player".$x]['sport'] = "NFL";
$players["player".$x]['firstname'] = "Lamar";
$players["player".$x]['lastname'] = "Miller";

But this seems like a terrible approach and that I'm doing something very noob. I really want to know the correct way of doing something like this.

That isn't a JSON array, that's an object with other objects as properties. — Salomao Rodrigues
– Salomao Rodrigues, Commented Dec 18, 2015 at 22:54
Actually when i went to jsonformatter.curiousconcept.com thats what it outputed for me and said "VALID JSON (RFC 4627)" — eqiz
– eqiz, Commented Dec 18, 2015 at 22:58
it is a valid json, but note the difference between { } which defines a JSON object, and [ ] which defines a JSON array. I'm compiling a bit of code to achieve exactly what you need, unless the resulting JSON grimmdude replied with suits your needs. — Salomao Rodrigues
– Salomao Rodrigues, Commented Dec 18, 2015 at 23:04
I would love to see your response as well everything is helpful — eqiz
– eqiz, Commented Dec 18, 2015 at 23:12

Alaa M. Jaddou · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-18 23:12:17Z

2

i think you need to create insted for loop to create sub array

for ($y = 1; $y < 3; $y++) {
    $players = array();
    for ( $x= 1; $x < 2; $x++ ) {
        $players["player".$x]['sport'] = "NFL";
        $players["player".$x]['firstname'] = "Tyrod";
        $players["player".$x]['lastname'] = "Taylor";

    }
    $roster['roster'.$y][] = $players;
}
// this will give you what you want my friend
echo json_encode($roster);

answered Dec 18, 2015 at 23:12

Alaa M. Jaddou

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Comments

grimmdude · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-19 02:25:28Z

1

Ideally you wouldn't add the roster and player numbers to the key (roster1, player1, etc). I'd use the array keys to do that job for me. Something like:

 $data['rosters'][] = [
                        ['sport' => 'nfl', 'firstname' => 'Tyrod', 'lastname' => 'Taylor'],
                        ['sport' => 'nfl', 'firstname' => 'Lamar', 'lastname' => 'Miller'],
                    ];

 $data['rosters'][] = [
                        ['sport' => 'nfl', 'firstname' => 'Carson', 'lastname' => 'Palmer'],
                        ['sport' => 'nfl', 'firstname' => 'David', 'lastname' => 'Johnson'],
                    ];

 echo json_encode($data);

That should give you:

{
    "rosters": [
        [{
            "sport": "nfl",
            "firstname": "Tyrod",
            "lastname": "Taylor"
        }, {
            "sport": "nfl",
            "firstname": "Lamar",
            "lastname": "Miller"
        }],
        [{
            "sport": "nfl",
            "firstname": "Carson",
            "lastname": "Palmer"
        }, {
            "sport": "nfl",
            "firstname": "David",
            "lastname": "Johnson"
        }]
    ]
}

Here's an example of how you could use a loop to build this data structure.

$data = [];

// ...for the example, but you'll want this to be your source data.
$number_of_rosters = 2;
$number_of_players = 2;

foreach (range(1, $number_of_rosters) as $index => $roster) {
    foreach (range(1, $number_of_players) as $player) {
        $data['rosters'][$index][] = ['sport' => 'nfl', 'firstname' => 'Tyrod', 'lastname' => 'Taylor'];
    }
}

edited Dec 19, 2015 at 2:25

answered Dec 18, 2015 at 23:01

grimmdude

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4 Comments

eqiz Over a year ago

What I don't get with this is why does $data['rosters'][] just append if your setting it equal to it? i don't get that. Why doesn't it replace it like if you did $x = "1"; $x = "2"; then the final output of $x would be 2?

grimmdude Over a year ago

$array[] = 'new element' That syntax appends a new element to an array in PHP. That's just the way it goes!

eqiz Over a year ago

the problem i have with your code example though is can you please present it in a for next loop to suggest data being dynamically pulled like Alaa did?

grimmdude Over a year ago

Sure, I added a loop example above. The problem is I don't know how you have your source data, so you'll need to twist some wires to suit it for your needs. This is just how I would do it.

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