PHP Update Serialized Data

Question

I need some help with unserializing and updating the array values and reserializing them (using php). Basically I want to be able to unserialize a string, update the value for a specific key (without loosing the other values) and reserialize it. I've searched and can't seem to find a viable solution (or maybe I'm just typhlotic).

The array I'm trying to update is very simple. It has a key and value.

array (
    'key' => 'value',
    'key2' => 'value2',
)

I currently have, but it does not work.

foreach(unserialize($serializedData) as $key => $val)
{
    if($key == 'key')
    {
        $serializedData[$key] = 'newValue';
    }
}

$updated_status = serialize($serializedData);

You shouldn't be changing $serializedData as this is the serialized representation of your array. Save the result of your call to unserialise() and use this instead. That should do the trick. — André Hoffmann
– André Hoffmann, Commented Jan 21, 2013 at 19:48
serialized data is just a string. you're actually trashing your string with that $serializedData[$key] business. — Marc B
– Marc B, Commented Jan 21, 2013 at 19:51

Mike Brant · Accepted Answer · 2017-02-27 12:31:35Z

8

You can't write directly to the serialized data string like you are trying to do here:

$serializedData[$key] = 'newValue';

You need to deserialize the data to an array, update the array, and then serialize it again. It seems as if you only want to update the value if the key exists, so you can do it like this:

$data = unserialize($serializedData);
if(array_key_exists('key', $data)) {
    $data['key'] = 'New Value';
}
$serializedData = serialize($data);

edited Feb 27, 2017 at 12:31

answered Jan 21, 2013 at 19:55

Mike Brant

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KingCrunch · Accepted Answer · 2013-01-21 19:45:43Z

6

Exactly, how you described it: Unserialize, update, serialize.

$data = unserialize($serializedData);
$data['key'] = 'newValue';
$updated_status = serialize($data);

answered Jan 21, 2013 at 19:45

KingCrunch

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