Convert an Object to a String in PHP

Question

I want to convert an Object into a String in PHP. Specifically, I'm trying to take a mysql query response, and I'm trying to convert it into something I can write to a file and use later.

Of course, when you try to write an Object to a file, PHP appropriately yells: Catchable fatal error: Object of class DB_result could not be converted to string in .....

Alternatively, if there is some other way of writing the result of a mysql query to a file, that works too. I'm playing around with a home-brewed caching project :)

Answer 1

Maybe serializing? It will take an object/array and convert it to a string (which can then be un-serialized back later)

Answer 2

It sounds like you want to serialize your object.

php.net/serialize
The Basics of Serializing Objects in PHP

Answer 3

json_encode and json_decode will also accomplish many of the properties you are looking for via serialize. The advantage is that you can send JSON-encoded data to a web browser and JavaScript can view and modify properties like a native JavaScript object. In addition, JSON is lighter weight than serialized data because its syntax is a lot more compact.