How to Preserve Special Characters in JSON using json_encode?

JSON Encoding Special Characters with json_encode

When working with arrays containing special characters, you may encounter a situation where these characters are converted to empty strings during JSON encoding using the json_encode function. This issue has been reported with characters such as copyright and trademark symbols.

To address this problem, ensure that the string data is UTF-8 encoded, as specified in the json_encode documentation. Here's a solution to resolve the issue:

1. Before encoding the array, use the array_map function to apply utf8_encode to each element.

<code class="php">$arr = array_map('utf8_encode', $arr);
$json = json_encode($arr);</code>

2. This will encode the special characters correctly, resulting in a JSON string that includes the symbols as expected.

<code class="json">// {"funds":"ComStage STOXX®Europe 600 Techn NR ETF"}</code>

It's crucial to note that for consistency, utf8_encode() should be used rather than htmlentities().

Refer to the following documentation for more information:

• [json_encode()](https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.json-encode.php)
• [utf8_encode()](https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.utf8-encode.php)
• [array_map()](https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.array-map.php)

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