How can you efficiently decode and manipulate JSON data in PHP to extract specific information?

To efficiently decode and manipulate JSON data in PHP to extract specific information, you can use the `json_decode()` function to convert the JSON data into a PHP associative array. Once you have the data in an array format, you can easily access specific information using array keys or loops.

// Sample JSON data
$jsonData = '{"name": "John Doe", "age": 30, "city": "New York"}';

// Decode JSON data into an associative array
$data = json_decode($jsonData, true);

// Extract specific information
$name = $data['name'];
$age = $data['age'];
$city = $data['city'];

// Output the extracted information
echo "Name: $name, Age: $age, City: $city";