Technically JSON

Technically\Json is a minimalistic wrapper around PHP native json_encode and json_decode functions, which always throws an exception in case of an error.

Features

• PHP 7.3+
• PHP 8.0
• Semver
• Tests

Problem

Look, if an error occurs with json_decode(), by default, it sets the global error state that can be retrieved with json_last_error() and json_last_error_msg(). Alternatively, developers can use JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR option to make json_decode() throw an exception in case of invalid input.

Proper way of using the native json_decode() function, though many developers forget about it:

try {
    $data = json_decode($input, false, 512, JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);
} catch (JsonException $exception) {
    // handle invalid input
}

Or this:

$data = \json_decode($input);
$error = \json_last_error();

if ($error !== JSON_ERROR_NONE) {
    throw new \JsonException(\json_last_error_msg(), $error);
}

I believe it should be the default behavior of json_decode() and json_encode() to throw on errors. We don't have to remember about it.

Solution

use function Technically\Json\json_decode;

try {
    $data = json_decode($input);
} catch (JsonException $exception) {
    // handle invalid input
}

Installation

Use Composer package manager to add the library to your project:

composer require technically/json

Usage

The namespaced json_encode() and json_decode() functions do always add JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR flag, but in the rest they work identically to the native functions: same arguments, same options, same result.

<?php

use JsonException;
use function Technically\Json\json_decode;
use function Technically\Json\json_encode;

// encode
echo json_encode(['name' => 'technically/json', 'type' => 'library']);

// decode with safety check exception to protected
try {
    $data = json_decode('[{ invalid JSON');
} catch (JsonException $exception) {
    // handle invalid data
}

Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in the CHANGELOG file.

Credits

• Implemented by Ivan Voskoboinyk