CODEWITHSUNDEEP
phparraysjson
aafonso1991
aafonso1991

Reputation: 142

Create a JSON Object

I have a string that comes in the form as "IT/Internet/Web Development/Ajax". I'm trying to create a php function that parses it and creates a JSON Object like

[{
  "name": "IT",
   "subcategories":[
   {
     "name": "Internet",
      "subcategories" : [
       {
        "name": "Web Development",
        "subcategories" : [
         {
         "name":"Ajax"
          }]}]}]

I am having problems writing a function to do that. This is what i have so far.

$category = "IT /Internet /Web Development";
$categoryarray = split("\/", $category);
$categoryLength = count($categoryarray);
$subcategory_collection = array();

$lastCategory = array("name"=>$categoryarray[$categoryLength-1]);
array_push($subcategory_collection, $lastCategory);

for($i=$categoryLength-2; $i>=0; $i--) {
    $subcategory = array("name" => $categoryarray[$i], "subcategories" => $subcategory_collection);
    array_push($subcategory_collection, $subcategory);
}

This does not produce the desired output. I want the function to be able to parse any string that comes in the form of "parent/child/grandchild/great grandchild" and make it into a JSON object. if anybody could guide me in the right direction, that would be greatly appreciated

Upvotes: 1

Views: 261

Answers (1)

GolezTrol
GolezTrol

Reputation: 116110

Maybe this is the right approach. I started with the deepest item and add a parent to each of them. I thought it was easier, although I don't know why. Haven't tried the other one. ;)

<?php
$input = "IT/Internet/Web Development";
$items = explode("/", $input);

$parent = new StdClass();
while (count($items))
{
  $item = array_pop($items);
  $object = $parent;
  $object->name = $item;
  $parent = new StdClass();
  $parent->name = '';
  $parent->subcategories = array($object);
}

echo json_encode(array($object));

Thanks for accepting! Meanwhile, I tried the other way around. I think the loop in itself is easier, but you need to remember the root object, so that adds some extra code. In the end there's not a big difference, but I think my gut feeling about reversing the order was right.

<?php
$input = "IT/Internet/Web Development";
$items = explode("/", $input);

$parent = null;
$firstObject = null;
while (count($items))
{
  $object = new StdClass();
  $item = array_shift($items);
  $object->name = $item;
  if ($parent)
    $parent->subcategories = array($object);
  else
    $firstObject = $object;

  $parent = $object;
}

echo json_encode(array($firstObject));

Upvotes: 1

Related Questions