Convert PHP Array to String

We often need to convert a PHP array to a string. This code explains how to convert an array to a string in PHP using implode function.

There are two ways to convert an array into a string in PHP.

1. Using implode() function
2. Using json_encode() function

Using implode() Function

By using the implode() function, we can convert all array elements into a string. This function returns the string. The separator parameter in implode() function is optional. But it is good to use two arguments. 

Syntax

implode(separator,array); 

Example

<?php  
//assigning value to the array  
$arr = array("Hello","students", " ", "how","are","you");  
  
echo implode(" ",$arr);// Use of implode function  
?>

In the above example, an array variable is declared and assigned some values at the first line.

The implode() function will convert the array into a string in the following line. Two parameters are passed in the implode() function. The first is the separator, and the other one is the array_name.

Output

You can also convert that string into an array if required. For that, we can use PHP's explode() function.

explode() function

By using explode() function, we can convert a string into an array of elements. We can pass three arguments in it. The first is for the separator, the second for array_name, and the last for the limit.

Syntax

explode(separator,array,limit); 

Example

<?php  
$str="Hello Students, How are you";  
  
//explode function breaks an string into array  
$arr=explode(" ",$str);  
  
print_r($arr);  
?> 

In the above example, a string variable is assigned some value. Then, explode() function breaks this string into an array. After this, we used the print_r() function, which prints all the array elements and their indexes.

Output

Using json() Function

In PHP, objects can be converted into JSON String using the PHP function json_encode().

A common use of JSON is to read data from a web server and display the data on a web page.

Syntax

json_encode(obj_name); 

Example

<?php  
  
//Assigning values to the object variable  
@$myObj->name="Tarun";  
@$myObj->age=20;  
@$myObj->cidy=""Noida";  
  
//json_encode() put data into associative array with index  
  
$myJSON=json_encode($myObj);  
  
echo($myJSON);  
  
?>

In the above example, we assign the value to the object variable, and then, in json_encode(), we convert the matter to the array variable and make the associative array. 

Output