How to Generate JSON File in PHP

In this article, we will introduce the method to generate a .json file in PHP.

• Using file_put_contents() function

Use file_put_contents() Function to Generate a .Json File in PHP

The built-in function file_put_contents() could write the content into a file in PHP. It searches for the file to write in, and if the desired file is not present, it creates a new file. We can use this function to create a .json file. The correct syntax to use this function is as follows

file_get_contents($pathOfFile, $info, $customContext, $mode);

This function accepts four parameters. The detail of these parameters is as follows.

This function returns the number of bytes written on the file if successful and false otherwise.

The below program will create a new .json file and store JSON data into it

<?php 
  
// data strored in array
$array = Array (
    "0" => Array (
        "id" => "01",
        "name" => "Olivia Mason",
        "designation" => "System Architect"
    ),
    "1" => Array (
        "id" => "02",
        "name" => "Jennifer Laurence",
        "designation" => "Senior Programmer"
    ),
    "2" => Array (
        "id" => "03",
        "name" => "Medona Oliver",
        "designation" => "Office Manager"
    )
);

// encode array to json
$json = json_encode($array);
$bytes = file_put_contents("myfile.json", $json); 
echo "The number of bytes written are $bytes.";
?>

We use json_encode() function to convert the data stored in the array to a JSON string. Once the data is converted to a JSON string, file_put_contents() function creates a .json file and writes data into it. The output shows the number of bytes, which means the data is written successfully.

Output:

The number of bytes written is 207.