What is the purpose of using json_decode in PHP and what are the common 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. This is useful when working with data from APIs or other sources that provide data in JSON format. Common pitfalls associated with json_decode include not checking for errors during decoding, not handling nested JSON structures properly, and potential security risks if the JSON data is not validated before decoding. 

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

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

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

Keywords

json_decode PHP data conversion associative arrays error handling

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