PhpSerializerNET

Table of contents

Dynamic
1. Deserializing Arrays
2. Deserializing Objects
Explicetly typed

Deserializing

“Dynamic”

Simply call PhpSerialization.Deserialize() with your serialized data. The returned object might be a downcast class or a boxed primitive, depending on the deserialized data.

using PhpSerializerNET;

object myData = PhpSerialization.Deserialize("s:3:\"Foo\";");
// myData is string && myData == "Foo"

Deserialize() will return:

null - for N;
boolean - for b:x;
long - for i:x;
double - for d:x;
string - for s:x:"y";
List<object> - for a:x:{...} (see deserializing arrays)
Dictionary<object, object> - for a:x:{...} (see deserializing arrays)
Possibly Any class or struct instance for objects (O:x:"y":z:{...}), see deserializing objects

And a variety of options for PHP objects, see deserializing objects for details.

You can also control some aspects of deserialization and what data structures will be produced via the options parameter:

using PhpSerializerNET;

object myData = PhpSerialization.Deserialize(
	"s:3:\"Foo\";",
	new PhpDeserializationOptions(){
		// These are all the defaults options:
		CaseSensitiveProperties = true,
		AllowExcessKeys = false,
		UseLists = ListOptions.Default,
		EmptyStringToDefault = true,
		NumberStringToBool = false,
		InputEncoding = Encoding.UTF8,
		StdClass = StdClassOption.Dictionary,
		EnableTypeLookup = true,
	}
);

More details on each options and examples are found in the PhpDeserializationOptions documentation.

Deserializing Arrays

Since PHP arrays are associative, they can represent either a straight forward list / arrays, a sparse list, or a dictionary. Currently, this library only supports deserialing into List<object>s and Dictionary<object,object>s. What is used depends on the data of the array and your settings.

By default, a run of consecutive integer keys will create a List<object>:

object myData = PhpSerialization.Deserialize(
	"a:2:{i:0;s:1:\"a\";i:0;s:1:\"b\";}"
);

// myData == List<object> { "a", "b" }

For more info on that behavior, see ListOptions.Default.

If non-integer keys are encountered, a dictionary will be created instead:

object myData = PhpSerialization.Deserialize(
	"a:2:{s:1:\"0\";s:1:\"a\";s:1:\"0\";s:1:\"b\";}"
);

// myData == Dictionary<object, object> { { Key = "0", Value = "a" }, { Key = "1", Value = "b" } }

This can also have entirely mixed datatypes:

object myData = PhpSerialization.Deserialize(
	"a:2:{i:0;s:1:\"a\";s:1:\"0\";s:1:\"b\";b:1;s:1:\"c\",d:1.33;s:1:\"d\"}"
);

/*
myData == Dictionary<object, object> {
	{ Key = 0, Value = "a" },
	{ Key = "1", Value = "b" },
	{ Key = true, Value = "c" },
	{ Key = 1.33, Value = "d" },
}
*/

If you always want to use dictionaries, you can set UseLists to ListOptions.Never.

Deserializing Objects

This highly depends on the settings. Please refer to:

And to an extend also:

AllowExcessKeys.

The default is that type lookup is enabled and stdClass will be deserialized into PhpObjectDictionary.

Explicetly typed

In addition to having boxed or downcast objects, you can also specify the target type if you know the structure of the data in advance.

using PhpSerializerNET;

string myData = PhpSerialization.Deserialize<string>("s:3:\"Foo\";");
// myData == "Foo"

Arrays and Objects can be deserialized directly onto known classes and structs too:

/*  Example 1: Object to struct. */
public struct MyStruct {
	public int Foo { get; set; }
	public double Bar { get; set; }
}

var myData = PhpSerialization.Deserialize<MyStruct>("a:4:{s:3:\"Foo\";i:1000;s:3:\"Bar\";d:3.1415;}");
// myData.Foo == 1000
// myData.Bar == 3.1415

/*  Example 2: Object to struct. */
public struct MyStruct {
	public int Foo { get; set; }
	public double Bar { get; set; }
}

var myData = PhpSerialization.Deserialize<MyStruct>("O:8:\"sdtClass\":2:{s:3:\"Foo\";i:1000;s:3:\"Bar\";d:3.1415;}");
// myData.Foo == 1000
// myData.Bar == 3.1415

Additionally, you may also specify the type of collection for an array. Please note that the constraints of list creation outlined in “Deserializing Arrays” apply.

/*  Example 3: List of strings. */
var myData = PhpSerialization.Deserialize<List<string>>("a:6:{i:0;s:1:\"a\";i:1;s:1:\"b\";i:3;s:1:\"c\";}");
// myData.Foo == List<string> { "a", "b", "c" }

You can also cast integers into enums:

/*  Example 4: Enums. */
public enum MyEnum {
	Foo = 1,
	Bar = 2,
	Baz = 3
}

var result = PhpSerialization.Deserialize<MyEnum>("i:2;");
// result = MyEnum.Bar

If value or structure can not be assigned to the specified type, a DeserializationException is thrown with some information about what assignement failed. Please pay attention to the InnerException in those cases.

/*  Example 5: Wrong. */
public struct MyStruct {
	public int Foo { get; set; }
	public double Bar { get; set; }
}

try {
	PhpSerialization.Deserialize<MyStruct>("b:1;");
} catch (DeserializationException ex){
	// ex.Message == "Can not assign value \"1\" (at position 0) to target type of MyStruct."
}

/*  
Example 6: Missing member. */
public struct MyStruct {
	public int Foo { get; set; }
	public double Bar { get; set; }
}

try {
	PhpSerialization.Deserialize<MyStruct>(
		"a:1:{s:15:\"Rumpelstiltskin\";i:666;}"
	);
} catch (DeserializationException ex){
	// ex.Message == "Could not bind the key \"Rumpelstiltskin\" to struct of type \"MyStruct\": No such field."
}

This site is open source. Improve this page.