How Can I Deserialize a Serialized String in PHP?

Understanding Serialization and Unserialization

You've encountered a serialized string, which is represented as follows:

a:2:{i:0;s:7:"Abogado";i:1;s:7:"Notario";}

To retrieve the array stored within this string, you must perform deserialization using the unserialize() function:

$str = 'a:2:{i:0;s:7:"Abogado";i:1;s:7:"Notario";}';
print_r(unserialize($str));

This operation will produce the following output:

Array ( [0] => Abogado [1] => Notario )

Manual Notes:

• Be cautious as unserialize() returns FALSE for both errors and deserialization of FALSE value. To handle this, compare str with serialize(false) or catch the issued E_NOTICE.
• Exercise vigilance when passing user-provided input to unserialize(). This can potentially execute malicious code. Consider employing a secure data exchange format like JSON (json_decode() and json_encode()).

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