What are common mistakes to avoid when using json_decode in PHP?

One common mistake to avoid when using json_decode in PHP is not checking for errors after decoding a JSON string. It's important to check if json_decode returns false, indicating an error in decoding the JSON string. To handle this, you can use the json_last_error function to get the last JSON error that occurred.

$jsonString = '{"key": "value"}';
$data = json_decode($jsonString);

if ($data === null && json_last_error() !== JSON_ERROR_NONE) {
    // Handle error, such as invalid JSON format
    echo 'Error decoding JSON: ' . json_last_error_msg();
} else {
    // Proceed with using the decoded data
    var_dump($data);
}