Function
serialize transforms a PHP value into a string:
serialize($value)
unserialize transforms a string back to a PHP value:
unserialize($string)
PHP values
null
serialize(null); // N;
string
serialize(''); // s:0:"";
serialize('hello'); // s:5:"hello";
bool
serialize(true); // b:1;
serialize(false); // b:0;
int
serialize(42); // i:42;
float
serialize(3.14); // d:3.14;
array
serialize([]); // a:0:{}
serialize(['key' => 'value']); // a:1:{s:3:"key";s:5:"value";}
serialize(['key' => 'value', 1 => 1]); // a:2:{s:3:"key";s:5:"value";i:1;i:1;}
object
serialize((object) ['key' => 'value']); // O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:3:"key";s:5:"value";}
serialize((object) ['key' => 'value', 1 => 1]); // O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:3:"key";s:5:"value";s:1:"1";i:2;}