How does PHP handle serialization automatically and what are the best practices for using it?

PHP handles serialization automatically by using the `serialize()` and `unserialize()` functions. When serializing data, PHP converts complex data structures into a string representation that can be stored or transmitted. When unserializing data, PHP converts the serialized string back into its original data structure. Best practices for using serialization in PHP include ensuring that the data being serialized does not contain any sensitive information, avoiding serializing large amounts of data, and being mindful of the potential security risks associated with unserializing data from untrusted sources. 

// Serialize data
$data = ['name' => 'John', 'age' => 30];
$serializedData = serialize($data);

// Unserialize data
$unserializedData = unserialize($serializedData);

// Output unserialized data
print_r($unserializedData);

Keywords

Serialization PHP automatic handling best practices data conversion

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