How can one optimize the data structure returned by a SOAPClient in PHP to avoid complex or nested data types like stdClass objects?

When working with SOAPClient in PHP, the data structure returned may often include complex or nested data types like stdClass objects, which can be difficult to work with. To optimize the data structure and avoid these complexities, you can convert the returned data into an associative array using the json_decode function. This will make the data easier to manipulate and access in your PHP code.

// Make a SOAP request
$client = new SoapClient('http://example.com/api?wsdl');
$response = $client->getData();

// Convert the response to JSON and then decode it into an associative array
$jsonResponse = json_encode($response);
$arrayResponse = json_decode($jsonResponse, true);

// Now you can work with the data as an associative array
foreach ($arrayResponse as $key => $value) {
    echo $key . ': ' . $value . PHP_EOL;
}