Remove numbered keys only, not value, from JSON format in PHP

Question

I'm building a JSON with PHP, and the keys can't be quoted, because I need to import it into Neo4j.

I'm using this to build it in PHP, inside a loop:

$contacts[$contact_key]["addr"][$addr_key]["zipcode"] = $zip_match[0];
$contacts[$contact_key]["addr"][$addr_key]["housenumber"] = $house_match[0];

And eventualy I use:

$reencoded = json_encode($contacts, JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE);        
$reencoded = preg_replace('/"([^"]+)"\s*:\s*/', '$1:', $reencoded);

So this is a part of the JSON string result:

{addr:{1:{zipcode:"1315 GN",housenumber:"1229P;"}}

But I can't have numbered keys like 1:, 2: ect. because that gives me a error in Neo4j.

I preferly need to achieve this format:

{addr: [{zipcode:"1315 GN",housenumber:"1229P"}]

How can I make a list of adresses for a contact person, without having numbered keys?

I think if you start $contact_key at 0 and increment it then the numbers will be absent in the JSON. But the non-quoted keys is NOT valid JSON so what is Neo4j doing? — AbraCadaver
– AbraCadaver, Commented Sep 14, 2016 at 17:49

Don't Panic · Accepted Answer · 2016-09-14 18:05:45Z

2

Instead of trying to remove the numeric keys you're getting from $addr_key from your JSON, just don't include them to begin with.

For the code inside your loop, you can add the addresses with [] instead, like this:

$address = ['zipcode' => $zip_match[0], 'housenumber' => $house_match[0]];
$contacts[$contact_key]["addr"][] = $address;

answered Sep 14, 2016 at 18:05

Don't Panic

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3 Comments

Jeroen Steen Over a year ago

Thanks code looks cleaner now, but I still get the numbers. Isn't it because $contacts[$contact_key]["addr"] is already filled/not empty?

Don't Panic Over a year ago

When you add the addresses using [], PHP will automatically create zero-based integer indexes for the addr array. When you json_encode an array like that, you should end up with a JSON array ([]) rather than a JSON object ({}). The keys should not be showing up in the JSON.

Jeroen Steen Over a year ago

I now use: $contacts[$contact_key]["addrs"][] to have a zero-based integer index, and at the start of the loop I do: unset($contacts[$contact_key]["addr"]); I now have a empty addr: [] present in the JSON result. But I think I can be happy right now.

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