PHP's parse_str in JavaScript

How to use

You you can install via yarn add locutus and require this function via const parse_str = require('locutus/php/strings/parse_str').

It is important to use a bundler that supports tree-shaking so that you only ship the functions that you actually use to your browser, instead of all of Locutus, which is massive. Examples are: Parcel, webpack, or rollup.js. For server-side use this is typically less of a concern.

Examples

Please note that these examples are distilled from test cases that automatically verify our functions still work correctly. This could explain some quirky ones.

#codeexpected result
1var $arr = {} parse_str('first=foo&second=bar', $arr) var $result = $arr{ first: 'foo', second: 'bar' }
2var $arr = {} parse_str('str_a=Jack+and+Jill+didn%27t+see+the+well.', $arr) var $result = $arr{ str_a: "Jack and Jill didn't see the well." }
3var $abc = {3:'a'} parse_str('a[b]["c"]=def&a[q]=t+5', $abc) var $result = $abc{"3":"a","a":{"b":{"c":"def"},"q":"t 5"}}
4var $arr = {} parse_str('a[][]=value', $arr) var $result = $arr{"a":{"0":{"0":"value"}}}
5var $arr = {} parse_str('a=1&a[]=2', $arr) var $result = $arr{"a":{"0":"2"}}

Notes

  • When no argument is specified, will put variables in global scope. When a particular argument has been passed, and the returned value is different parse_str of PHP. For example, a=b=c&d====c

Here’s what our current JavaScript equivalent to PHP's parse_str looks like. 

module.exports = function parse_str(str, array) {
  //       discuss at: https://locutus.io/php/parse_str/
  //      original by: Cagri Ekin
  //      improved by: Michael White (https://getsprink.com)
  //      improved by: Jack
  //      improved by: Brett Zamir (https://brett-zamir.me)
  //      bugfixed by: Onno Marsman (https://twitter.com/onnomarsman)
  //      bugfixed by: Brett Zamir (https://brett-zamir.me)
  //      bugfixed by: stag019
  //      bugfixed by: Brett Zamir (https://brett-zamir.me)
  //      bugfixed by: MIO_KODUKI (https://mio-koduki.blogspot.com/)
  // reimplemented by: stag019
  //         input by: Dreamer
  //         input by: Zaide (https://zaidesthings.com/)
  //         input by: David Pesta (https://davidpesta.com/)
  //         input by: jeicquest
  //      bugfixed by: Rafał Kukawski
  //           note 1: When no argument is specified, will put variables in global scope.
  //           note 1: When a particular argument has been passed, and the
  //           note 1: returned value is different parse_str of PHP.
  //           note 1: For example, a=b=c&d====c
  //        example 1: var $arr = {}
  //        example 1: parse_str('first=foo&second=bar', $arr)
  //        example 1: var $result = $arr
  //        returns 1: { first: 'foo', second: 'bar' }
  //        example 2: var $arr = {}
  //        example 2: parse_str('str_a=Jack+and+Jill+didn%27t+see+the+well.', $arr)
  //        example 2: var $result = $arr
  //        returns 2: { str_a: "Jack and Jill didn't see the well." }
  //        example 3: var $abc = {3:'a'}
  //        example 3: parse_str('a[b]["c"]=def&a[q]=t+5', $abc)
  //        example 3: var $result = $abc
  //        returns 3: {"3":"a","a":{"b":{"c":"def"},"q":"t 5"}}
  //        example 4: var $arr = {}
  //        example 4: parse_str('a[][]=value', $arr)
  //        example 4: var $result = $arr
  //        returns 4: {"a":{"0":{"0":"value"}}}
  //        example 5: var $arr = {}
  //        example 5: parse_str('a=1&a[]=2', $arr)
  //        example 5: var $result = $arr
  //        returns 5: {"a":{"0":"2"}}

  const strArr = String(str).replace(/^&/, '').replace(/&$/, '').split('&')
  const sal = strArr.length
  let i
  let j
  let ct
  let p
  let lastObj
  let obj
  let chr
  let tmp
  let key
  let value
  let postLeftBracketPos
  let keys
  let keysLen

  const _fixStr = function (str) {
    return decodeURIComponent(str.replace(/\+/g, '%20'))
  }

  const $global = typeof window !== 'undefined' ? window : global
  $global.$locutus = $global.$locutus || {}
  const $locutus = $global.$locutus
  $locutus.php = $locutus.php || {}

  if (!array) {
    array = $global
  }

  for (i = 0; i < sal; i++) {
    tmp = strArr[i].split('=')
    key = _fixStr(tmp[0])
    value = tmp.length < 2 ? '' : _fixStr(tmp[1])

    if (key.includes('__proto__') || key.includes('constructor') || key.includes('prototype')) {
      break
    }

    while (key.charAt(0) === ' ') {
      key = key.slice(1)
    }

    if (key.indexOf('\x00') > -1) {
      key = key.slice(0, key.indexOf('\x00'))
    }

    if (key && key.charAt(0) !== '[') {
      keys = []
      postLeftBracketPos = 0

      for (j = 0; j < key.length; j++) {
        if (key.charAt(j) === '[' && !postLeftBracketPos) {
          postLeftBracketPos = j + 1
        } else if (key.charAt(j) === ']') {
          if (postLeftBracketPos) {
            if (!keys.length) {
              keys.push(key.slice(0, postLeftBracketPos - 1))
            }

            keys.push(key.substr(postLeftBracketPos, j - postLeftBracketPos))
            postLeftBracketPos = 0

            if (key.charAt(j + 1) !== '[') {
              break
            }
          }
        }
      }

      if (!keys.length) {
        keys = [key]
      }

      for (j = 0; j < keys[0].length; j++) {
        chr = keys[0].charAt(j)

        if (chr === ' ' || chr === '.' || chr === '[') {
          keys[0] = keys[0].substr(0, j) + '_' + keys[0].substr(j + 1)
        }

        if (chr === '[') {
          break
        }
      }

      obj = array

      for (j = 0, keysLen = keys.length; j < keysLen; j++) {
        key = keys[j].replace(/^['"]/, '').replace(/['"]$/, '')
        lastObj = obj

        if ((key === '' || key === ' ') && j !== 0) {
          // Insert new dimension
          ct = -1

          for (p in obj) {
            if (obj.hasOwnProperty(p)) {
              if (+p > ct && p.match(/^\d+$/g)) {
                ct = +p
              }
            }
          }

          key = ct + 1
        }

        // if primitive value, replace with object
        if (Object(obj[key]) !== obj[key]) {
          obj[key] = {}
        }

        obj = obj[key]
      }

      lastObj[key] = value
    }
  }
}

A community effort

Not unlike Wikipedia, Locutus is an ongoing community effort. Our philosophy follows The McDonald’s Theory. This means that we assimilate first iterations with imperfections, hoping for others to take issue with-and improve them. This unorthodox approach has worked very well to foster fun and fruitful collaboration, but please be reminded to use our creations at your own risk. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" has never been more true than for Locutus.

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