Eval alternatives for array creation

Question

I am storing an array in string form in a database for later retrieval: The value of the array happens to be parameters for a filter_val call.

$str = 'array("options" => array("min_range" => 4))';

I know I can use

eval('$options = ' . $str . ';');

to prepare this value for passing to filter_val, but is there any other way to do this?

This related post (while excellent) didn't handle my exact issue.

Yeah, if you're going to take it outside the realm of your code then just store it in a way that keeps the information of the array but without the concept of the data structure, which you can easily recreate. I would vote for JSON as well. — yoshiwaan
– yoshiwaan, Commented Mar 13, 2015 at 16:21
Recommend JSON myself, as it's more portable than using serialize. — ItalyPaleAle
– ItalyPaleAle, Commented Mar 13, 2015 at 16:34

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:06:24Z

3

I would not use eval() to get your string functional. For example, the function eval may be disallowed on some hosts, thus your application will not work.

A more appropriate way would be to store your options in a json_encode()'d string, and decode when you need.

$options = json_decode($options_from_db);

Or as John Conde mentions, you can serialise it.

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:06

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answered Mar 13, 2015 at 16:21

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1 Comment

Scott C Wilson Over a year ago

For some reason, I was resistant to doing this until I realized it would work like a charm. :)

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