Why Does `json_decode` Return NULL After a Web Service Call?

JSON Decoding Returns Null After Web Service Call

This thread explores a peculiar behavior encountered when decoding JSON responses from a web service call. The issue arises due to the json_decode function returning NULL despite the web service returning JSON data.

To resolve this, it's important to identify the root cause. In the given scenario, the key to the problem lies in magic quotes, a deprecated PHP configuration. Magic quotes automatically escape certain characters and change their meaning in global variables like $_GET, $_POST, $_COOKIE, etc.

When magic quotes are enabled, they interfere with the decoding process by corrupting the JSON data received from the web service. This leads to json_decode failing and returning NULL.

Solution:

To address this issue, it's imperative to disable magic quotes for the $_POST variable specifically. This can be achieved through the following code:

if (get_magic_quotes_gpc()) {
  $param = stripslashes($_POST['param']);
} else {
  $param = $_POST['param'];
}
$param = json_decode($param, true);

By disabling magic quotes, the JSON data remains intact and can be successfully decoded using json_decode.

The above is the detailed content of Why Does `json_decode` Return NULL After a Web Service Call?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!