What is the purpose of using json_decode in PHP and what are the potential pitfalls associated with it?

The purpose of using json_decode in PHP is to decode a JSON string and convert it into a PHP variable or object. Potential pitfalls associated with json_decode include malformed JSON strings causing errors, unexpected data types being returned, and the possibility of running into memory limits when decoding large JSON strings. 

$json_string = '{"key": "value"}';
$decoded_data = json_decode($json_string);

if ($decoded_data === null && json_last_error() !== JSON_ERROR_NONE) {
    throw new Exception('Error decoding JSON: ' . json_last_error_msg());
}

// Now you can use $decoded_data as a PHP variable

Keywords

json_decode PHP data conversion error handling security vulnerabilities

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