In what scenarios would using serialize, var_export, or json_encode be more appropriate than manually manipulating variables in PHP?

When you need to store complex data structures in a format that can be easily saved to a file or transmitted over a network, using serialize, var_export, or json_encode can be more appropriate than manually manipulating variables in PHP. These functions allow you to convert data into a string representation that can be easily reconstructed back into its original form when needed. 

$data = ['name' => 'John', 'age' => 30, 'city' => 'New York'];

// Using serialize
$serializedData = serialize($data);

// Using var_export
$exportedData = var_export($data, true);

// Using json_encode
$jsonData = json_encode($data);

Keywords

serialize var_export json_encode variables manipulation

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