php cast array

Recently in my PHP project, I often need to perform data type conversion. Especially when I'm returning data from a function or API, I sometimes need to convert them to an array. So I started researching how to do array type conversion in PHP and I found many ways. This article discusses these methods and provides some examples to help you better understand them.

1. Use (array) for type conversion

This is probably the simplest method and the most common one. If you want to convert a variable to an array, just prepend (array) to the variable. For example, the following code can convert an object into an array:

$myObject = new stdClass();
$myObject->name = 'Tom';
$myObject->age = 30;
$myArray = (array) $myObject;
print_r($myArray);

The output result is:

Array
(
    [name] => Tom
    [age] => 30
)

This method is also suitable for other data types, such as strings, integers, floating point numbers, etc.

2. Convert using the array() function

Another way to convert a data type to an array is to use PHP’s array() function. This function accepts multiple parameters and assigns them as elements of an array. You can use this function to convert other data types to arrays. For example:

$myString = "Hello World";
$myArray = array($myString);
print_r($myArray);

The output is:

Array
(
    [0] => Hello World
)

You can also pass multiple values ​​as parameters to the array() function to create a multi-element array. For example:

$myArray = array("Tom", "Jerry", "Spike");
print_r($myArray);

The output result is:

Array
(
    [0] => Tom
    [1] => Jerry
    [2] => Spike
)

3. Use (array) $variable for conversion

Another way to convert data types to arrays The way to do this is to use the (array) $variable syntax. This syntax is slightly more complex than the first method, but it is more useful for certain data types. For example, if you want to convert a JSON string to an array, you can use the following code:

$jsonString = '{"name": "Tom", "age": 30}';
$myArray = (array) json_decode($jsonString);
print_r($myArray);

The output is:

Array
(
    [name] => Tom
    [age] => 30
)

4. Use the cast_array() function to convert

The last way to convert a data type to an array is to use PHP's cast_array() function. This function is not a built-in function, you need to install the PECL extension to use it. However, if you are using PHP version 7.2 or higher, this function has been deprecated. Therefore, in the latest versions, you should use the array_cast() function.

No matter which function it is, they all use the same method. They accept a variable as argument and convert it to an array. For example:

// cast_array()函数
$myString = "Hello World";
$myArray = cast_array($myString);
print_r($myArray);

// array_cast()函数
$myInteger = 123;
$myArray = array_cast($myInteger);
print_r($myArray);

The output is:

Array
(
    [0] => Hello World
)

Array
(
    [0] => 123
)

Summary

In PHP, there are many ways to convert data types to arrays. These methods include using the (array), array(), (array) $variable and cast_array() functions. Depending on your needs and personal preferences, you can choose an appropriate method. No matter which method you choose, you can use them to convert various data types into arrays simply and easily.

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