PHP's serialize in TypeScript

How to use

Install via yarn add locutus and import: import { serialize } from 'locutus/php/var/serialize'.

Or with CommonJS: const { serialize } = require('locutus/php/var/serialize')

Use a bundler that supports tree-shaking so you only ship the functions you actually use. Vite, webpack, Rollup, and Parcel all handle this. For server-side use this is less of a concern.

Examples

These examples are extracted from test cases that automatically verify our functions against their native counterparts.

#	code	expected result
1	serialize(['Kevin', 'van', 'Zonneveld'])	'a:3:{i:0;s:5:"Kevin";i:1;s:3:"van";i:2;s:9:"Zonneveld";}'
2	serialize({firstName: 'Kevin', midName: 'van'})	'a:2:{s:9:"firstName";s:5:"Kevin";s:7:"midName";s:3:"van";}'
3	serialize( {'ü': 'ü', '四': '四', '𠜎': '𠜎'})	'a:3:{s:2:"ü";s:2:"ü";s:3:"四";s:3:"四";s:4:"𠜎";s:4:"𠜎";}'

Notes

• We feel the main purpose of this function should be to ease the transport of data between php & js Aiming for PHP-compatibility, we have to translate objects to arrays

Dependencies

This function uses the following Locutus functions:

• _phpRuntimeState (php/_helpers)
• _phpTypes (php/_helpers)

Here's what our current TypeScript equivalent to PHP's serialize looks like.

TSTypeScript JSJavaScript TSStandalone TS JSStandalone JS

Copy code

import { getPhpObjectEntry } from '../_helpers/_phpRuntimeState.ts'
import { type PhpRuntimeValue, toPhpArrayObject } from '../_helpers/_phpTypes.ts'

type LocutusType = 'function' | 'boolean' | 'number' | 'string' | 'array' | 'object' | 'undefined' | 'null'
type SerializeValue = PhpRuntimeValue

export function serialize(mixedValue: SerializeValue): string {
  //  discuss at: https://locutus.io/php/serialize/
  // original by: Arpad Ray (mailto:arpad@php.net)
  // improved by: Dino
  // improved by: Le Torbi (https://www.letorbi.de/)
  // improved by: Kevin van Zonneveld (https://kvz.io/)
  // bugfixed by: Andrej Pavlovic
  // bugfixed by: Garagoth
  // bugfixed by: Russell Walker (https://www.nbill.co.uk/)
  // bugfixed by: Jamie Beck (https://www.terabit.ca/)
  // bugfixed by: Kevin van Zonneveld (https://kvz.io/)
  // bugfixed by: Ben (https://benblume.co.uk/)
  // bugfixed by: Codestar (https://codestarlive.com/)
  // bugfixed by: idjem (https://github.com/idjem)
  //    input by: DtTvB (https://dt.in.th/2008-09-16.string-length-in-bytes.html)
  //    input by: Martin (https://www.erlenwiese.de/)
  //      note 1: We feel the main purpose of this function should be to ease
  //      note 1: the transport of data between php & js
  //      note 1: Aiming for PHP-compatibility, we have to translate objects to arrays
  //   example 1: serialize(['Kevin', 'van', 'Zonneveld'])
  //   returns 1: 'a:3:{i:0;s:5:"Kevin";i:1;s:3:"van";i:2;s:9:"Zonneveld";}'
  //   example 2: serialize({firstName: 'Kevin', midName: 'van'})
  //   returns 2: 'a:2:{s:9:"firstName";s:5:"Kevin";s:7:"midName";s:3:"van";}'
  //   example 3: serialize( {'ü': 'ü', '四': '四', '𠜎': '𠜎'})
  //   returns 3: 'a:3:{s:2:"ü";s:2:"ü";s:3:"四";s:3:"四";s:4:"𠜎";s:4:"𠜎";}'

  let val = ''
  let okey: number | string
  let ktype: LocutusType = 'undefined'
  let vals = ''
  let count = 0

  const _utf8Size = function (str: string): number {
    return ~-encodeURI(str).split(/%..|./).length
  }

  const _getType = function (inp: SerializeValue): LocutusType {
    let match: RegExpMatchArray | null
    let cons = ''
    const types: Array<'boolean' | 'number' | 'string' | 'array'> = ['boolean', 'number', 'string', 'array']
    const jsType = typeof inp
    let type: LocutusType =
      jsType === 'boolean' ||
      jsType === 'number' ||
      jsType === 'string' ||
      jsType === 'function' ||
      jsType === 'undefined' ||
      jsType === 'object'
        ? jsType
        : 'undefined'

    if (type === 'object' && !inp) {
      return 'null'
    }

    if (type === 'object' && typeof inp === 'object' && inp !== null) {
      const constructorValue = getPhpObjectEntry(inp, 'constructor')
      if (typeof constructorValue !== 'function') {
        return 'object'
      }
      cons = constructorValue.toString()
      match = cons.match(/(\w+)\(/)
      if (match) {
        cons = (match[1] ?? '').toLowerCase()
      }
      for (const itemType of types) {
        if (cons === itemType) {
          type = itemType
          break
        }
      }
    }
    return type
  }

  const type = _getType(mixedValue)

  switch (type) {
    case 'function':
      val = ''
      break
    case 'boolean':
      val = 'b:' + (mixedValue ? '1' : '0')
      break
    case 'number': {
      const numericValue = Number(mixedValue)
      val = (Math.round(numericValue) === numericValue ? 'i' : 'd') + ':' + numericValue
      break
    }
    case 'string': {
      const stringValue = String(mixedValue)
      val = 's:' + _utf8Size(stringValue) + ':"' + stringValue + '"'
      break
    }
    case 'array':
    case 'object': {
      val = 'a'
      /*
      if (type === 'object') {
        var objname = mixedValue.constructor.toString().match(/(\w+)\(\)/);
        if (objname === undefined) {
          return;
        }
        objname[1] = serialize(objname[1]);
        val = 'O' + objname[1].substring(1, objname[1].length - 1);
      }
      */
      const source = toPhpArrayObject<SerializeValue>(mixedValue)
      for (const [key, entry] of Object.entries(source)) {
        ktype = _getType(entry)
        if (ktype === 'function') {
          continue
        }

        okey = key.match(/^[0-9]+$/) ? parseInt(key, 10) : key
        vals += serialize(okey) + serialize(entry)
        count++
      }
      val += ':' + count + ':{' + vals + '}'
      break
    }
    case 'undefined':
    default:
      // Fall-through
      // if the JS object has a property which contains a null value,
      // the string cannot be unserialized by PHP
      val = 'N'
      break
  }
  if (type !== 'object' && type !== 'array') {
    val += ';'
  }

  return val
}

import { getPhpObjectEntry } from '../_helpers/_phpRuntimeState.ts'
import { toPhpArrayObject } from '../_helpers/_phpTypes.ts'

export function serialize(mixedValue) {
  //  discuss at: https://locutus.io/php/serialize/
  // original by: Arpad Ray (mailto:arpad@php.net)
  // improved by: Dino
  // improved by: Le Torbi (https://www.letorbi.de/)
  // improved by: Kevin van Zonneveld (https://kvz.io/)
  // bugfixed by: Andrej Pavlovic
  // bugfixed by: Garagoth
  // bugfixed by: Russell Walker (https://www.nbill.co.uk/)
  // bugfixed by: Jamie Beck (https://www.terabit.ca/)
  // bugfixed by: Kevin van Zonneveld (https://kvz.io/)
  // bugfixed by: Ben (https://benblume.co.uk/)
  // bugfixed by: Codestar (https://codestarlive.com/)
  // bugfixed by: idjem (https://github.com/idjem)
  //    input by: DtTvB (https://dt.in.th/2008-09-16.string-length-in-bytes.html)
  //    input by: Martin (https://www.erlenwiese.de/)
  //      note 1: We feel the main purpose of this function should be to ease
  //      note 1: the transport of data between php & js
  //      note 1: Aiming for PHP-compatibility, we have to translate objects to arrays
  //   example 1: serialize(['Kevin', 'van', 'Zonneveld'])
  //   returns 1: 'a:3:{i:0;s:5:"Kevin";i:1;s:3:"van";i:2;s:9:"Zonneveld";}'
  //   example 2: serialize({firstName: 'Kevin', midName: 'van'})
  //   returns 2: 'a:2:{s:9:"firstName";s:5:"Kevin";s:7:"midName";s:3:"van";}'
  //   example 3: serialize( {'ü': 'ü', '四': '四', '𠜎': '𠜎'})
  //   returns 3: 'a:3:{s:2:"ü";s:2:"ü";s:3:"四";s:3:"四";s:4:"𠜎";s:4:"𠜎";}'

  let val = ''
  let okey
  let ktype = 'undefined'
  let vals = ''
  let count = 0

  const _utf8Size = function (str) {
    return ~-encodeURI(str).split(/%..|./).length
  }

  const _getType = function (inp) {
    let match
    let cons = ''
    const types = ['boolean', 'number', 'string', 'array']
    const jsType = typeof inp
    let type =
      jsType === 'boolean' ||
      jsType === 'number' ||
      jsType === 'string' ||
      jsType === 'function' ||
      jsType === 'undefined' ||
      jsType === 'object'
        ? jsType
        : 'undefined'

    if (type === 'object' && !inp) {
      return 'null'
    }

    if (type === 'object' && typeof inp === 'object' && inp !== null) {
      const constructorValue = getPhpObjectEntry(inp, 'constructor')
      if (typeof constructorValue !== 'function') {
        return 'object'
      }
      cons = constructorValue.toString()
      match = cons.match(/(\w+)\(/)
      if (match) {
        cons = (match[1] ?? '').toLowerCase()
      }
      for (const itemType of types) {
        if (cons === itemType) {
          type = itemType
          break
        }
      }
    }
    return type
  }

  const type = _getType(mixedValue)

  switch (type) {
    case 'function':
      val = ''
      break
    case 'boolean':
      val = 'b:' + (mixedValue ? '1' : '0')
      break
    case 'number': {
      const numericValue = Number(mixedValue)
      val = (Math.round(numericValue) === numericValue ? 'i' : 'd') + ':' + numericValue
      break
    }
    case 'string': {
      const stringValue = String(mixedValue)
      val = 's:' + _utf8Size(stringValue) + ':"' + stringValue + '"'
      break
    }
    case 'array':
    case 'object': {
      val = 'a'
      /*
      if (type === 'object') {
       var objname = mixedValue.constructor.toString().match(/(\w+)\(\)/);
       if (objname === undefined) {
        return;
       }
       objname[1] = serialize(objname[1]);
       val = 'O' + objname[1].substring(1, objname[1].length - 1);
      }
      */
      const source = toPhpArrayObject(mixedValue)
      for (const [key, entry] of Object.entries(source)) {
        ktype = _getType(entry)
        if (ktype === 'function') {
          continue
        }

        okey = key.match(/^[0-9]+$/) ? parseInt(key, 10) : key
        vals += serialize(okey) + serialize(entry)
        count++
      }
      val += ':' + count + ':{' + vals + '}'
      break
    }
    case 'undefined':
    default:
      // Fall-through
      // if the JS object has a property which contains a null value,
      // the string cannot be unserialized by PHP
      val = 'N'
      break
  }
  if (type !== 'object' && type !== 'array') {
    val += ';'
  }

  return val
}

// php/_helpers/_phpTypes (Locutus helper dependency)
type PhpNullish = null | undefined

type PhpInput = {} | PhpNullish

type PhpScalar = string | number | boolean

type PhpPrimitive = PhpScalar | bigint

type PhpList<T = PhpInput> = T[]

type PhpAssoc<T = PhpInput> = { [key: string]: T }

type PhpArrayLike<T = PhpInput> = PhpList<T> | PhpAssoc<T>

type PhpFunctionValue = (...args: PhpInput[]) => PhpInput

interface PhpRuntimeAssoc {
  [key: string]: PhpRuntimeValue
}

interface PhpRuntimeList extends Array<PhpRuntimeValue> {}

type PhpRuntimeValue = PhpPrimitive | PhpNullish | PhpRuntimeList | PhpRuntimeAssoc | PhpFunctionValue

function isObjectLike(value: PhpInput): value is PhpArrayLike<PhpInput> {
  return typeof value === 'object' && value !== null
}

function isPhpArrayObject<T = PhpInput>(value: PhpInput): value is PhpAssoc<T> {
  return isObjectLike(value)
}

function toPhpArrayObject<T = PhpInput>(value: PhpInput): PhpAssoc<T> {
  if (isPhpArrayObject<T>(value)) {
    return value
  }

  return {}
}

// php/_helpers/_phpRuntimeState (Locutus helper dependency)
function getPhpObjectEntry(value: PhpInput, key: string): PhpInput | undefined {
  if ((typeof value !== 'object' && typeof value !== 'function') || value === null) {
    return undefined
  }

  let current: object | null = value
  while (current) {
    const descriptor = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(current, key)
    if (descriptor) {
      if (typeof descriptor.get === 'function') {
        const getterValue = descriptor.get.call(value)
        return typeof getterValue === 'undefined' ? undefined : getterValue
      }
      const directValue = descriptor.value
      return typeof directValue === 'undefined' ? undefined : directValue
    }
    current = Object.getPrototypeOf(current)
  }

  return undefined
}

// php/var/serialize (target function module)
type LocutusType = 'function' | 'boolean' | 'number' | 'string' | 'array' | 'object' | 'undefined' | 'null'

type SerializeValue = PhpRuntimeValue

function serialize(mixedValue: SerializeValue): string {
  //  discuss at: https://locutus.io/php/serialize/
  // original by: Arpad Ray (mailto:arpad@php.net)
  // improved by: Dino
  // improved by: Le Torbi (https://www.letorbi.de/)
  // improved by: Kevin van Zonneveld (https://kvz.io/)
  // bugfixed by: Andrej Pavlovic
  // bugfixed by: Garagoth
  // bugfixed by: Russell Walker (https://www.nbill.co.uk/)
  // bugfixed by: Jamie Beck (https://www.terabit.ca/)
  // bugfixed by: Kevin van Zonneveld (https://kvz.io/)
  // bugfixed by: Ben (https://benblume.co.uk/)
  // bugfixed by: Codestar (https://codestarlive.com/)
  // bugfixed by: idjem (https://github.com/idjem)
  //    input by: DtTvB (https://dt.in.th/2008-09-16.string-length-in-bytes.html)
  //    input by: Martin (https://www.erlenwiese.de/)
  //      note 1: We feel the main purpose of this function should be to ease
  //      note 1: the transport of data between php & js
  //      note 1: Aiming for PHP-compatibility, we have to translate objects to arrays
  //   example 1: serialize(['Kevin', 'van', 'Zonneveld'])
  //   returns 1: 'a:3:{i:0;s:5:"Kevin";i:1;s:3:"van";i:2;s:9:"Zonneveld";}'
  //   example 2: serialize({firstName: 'Kevin', midName: 'van'})
  //   returns 2: 'a:2:{s:9:"firstName";s:5:"Kevin";s:7:"midName";s:3:"van";}'
  //   example 3: serialize( {'ü': 'ü', '四': '四', '𠜎': '𠜎'})
  //   returns 3: 'a:3:{s:2:"ü";s:2:"ü";s:3:"四";s:3:"四";s:4:"𠜎";s:4:"𠜎";}'

  let val = ''
  let okey: number | string
  let ktype: LocutusType = 'undefined'
  let vals = ''
  let count = 0

  const _utf8Size = function (str: string): number {
    return ~-encodeURI(str).split(/%..|./).length
  }

  const _getType = function (inp: SerializeValue): LocutusType {
    let match: RegExpMatchArray | null
    let cons = ''
    const types: Array<'boolean' | 'number' | 'string' | 'array'> = ['boolean', 'number', 'string', 'array']
    const jsType = typeof inp
    let type: LocutusType =
      jsType === 'boolean' ||
      jsType === 'number' ||
      jsType === 'string' ||
      jsType === 'function' ||
      jsType === 'undefined' ||
      jsType === 'object'
        ? jsType
        : 'undefined'

    if (type === 'object' && !inp) {
      return 'null'
    }

    if (type === 'object' && typeof inp === 'object' && inp !== null) {
      const constructorValue = getPhpObjectEntry(inp, 'constructor')
      if (typeof constructorValue !== 'function') {
        return 'object'
      }
      cons = constructorValue.toString()
      match = cons.match(/(\w+)\(/)
      if (match) {
        cons = (match[1] ?? '').toLowerCase()
      }
      for (const itemType of types) {
        if (cons === itemType) {
          type = itemType
          break
        }
      }
    }
    return type
  }

  const type = _getType(mixedValue)

  switch (type) {
    case 'function':
      val = ''
      break
    case 'boolean':
      val = 'b:' + (mixedValue ? '1' : '0')
      break
    case 'number': {
      const numericValue = Number(mixedValue)
      val = (Math.round(numericValue) === numericValue ? 'i' : 'd') + ':' + numericValue
      break
    }
    case 'string': {
      const stringValue = String(mixedValue)
      val = 's:' + _utf8Size(stringValue) + ':"' + stringValue + '"'
      break
    }
    case 'array':
    case 'object': {
      val = 'a'
      /*
      if (type === 'object') {
        var objname = mixedValue.constructor.toString().match(/(\w+)\(\)/);
        if (objname === undefined) {
          return;
        }
        objname[1] = serialize(objname[1]);
        val = 'O' + objname[1].substring(1, objname[1].length - 1);
      }
      */
      const source = toPhpArrayObject<SerializeValue>(mixedValue)
      for (const [key, entry] of Object.entries(source)) {
        ktype = _getType(entry)
        if (ktype === 'function') {
          continue
        }

        okey = key.match(/^[0-9]+$/) ? parseInt(key, 10) : key
        vals += serialize(okey) + serialize(entry)
        count++
      }
      val += ':' + count + ':{' + vals + '}'
      break
    }
    case 'undefined':
    default:
      // Fall-through
      // if the JS object has a property which contains a null value,
      // the string cannot be unserialized by PHP
      val = 'N'
      break
  }
  if (type !== 'object' && type !== 'array') {
    val += ';'
  }

  return val
}

// php/_helpers/_phpTypes (Locutus helper dependency)
function isPhpArrayObject(value) {
  return typeof value === 'object' && value !== null
}

function toPhpArrayObject(value) {
  if (isPhpArrayObject(value)) {
    return value
  }

  return {}
}

// php/_helpers/_phpRuntimeState (Locutus helper dependency)
function getPhpObjectEntry(value, key) {
  if ((typeof value !== 'object' && typeof value !== 'function') || value === null) {
    return undefined
  }

  let current = value
  while (current) {
    const descriptor = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(current, key)
    if (descriptor) {
      if (typeof descriptor.get === 'function') {
        const getterValue = descriptor.get.call(value)
        return typeof getterValue === 'undefined' ? undefined : getterValue
      }
      const directValue = descriptor.value
      return typeof directValue === 'undefined' ? undefined : directValue
    }
    current = Object.getPrototypeOf(current)
  }

  return undefined
}

// php/var/serialize (target function module)
function serialize(mixedValue) {
  //  discuss at: https://locutus.io/php/serialize/
  // original by: Arpad Ray (mailto:arpad@php.net)
  // improved by: Dino
  // improved by: Le Torbi (https://www.letorbi.de/)
  // improved by: Kevin van Zonneveld (https://kvz.io/)
  // bugfixed by: Andrej Pavlovic
  // bugfixed by: Garagoth
  // bugfixed by: Russell Walker (https://www.nbill.co.uk/)
  // bugfixed by: Jamie Beck (https://www.terabit.ca/)
  // bugfixed by: Kevin van Zonneveld (https://kvz.io/)
  // bugfixed by: Ben (https://benblume.co.uk/)
  // bugfixed by: Codestar (https://codestarlive.com/)
  // bugfixed by: idjem (https://github.com/idjem)
  //    input by: DtTvB (https://dt.in.th/2008-09-16.string-length-in-bytes.html)
  //    input by: Martin (https://www.erlenwiese.de/)
  //      note 1: We feel the main purpose of this function should be to ease
  //      note 1: the transport of data between php & js
  //      note 1: Aiming for PHP-compatibility, we have to translate objects to arrays
  //   example 1: serialize(['Kevin', 'van', 'Zonneveld'])
  //   returns 1: 'a:3:{i:0;s:5:"Kevin";i:1;s:3:"van";i:2;s:9:"Zonneveld";}'
  //   example 2: serialize({firstName: 'Kevin', midName: 'van'})
  //   returns 2: 'a:2:{s:9:"firstName";s:5:"Kevin";s:7:"midName";s:3:"van";}'
  //   example 3: serialize( {'ü': 'ü', '四': '四', '𠜎': '𠜎'})
  //   returns 3: 'a:3:{s:2:"ü";s:2:"ü";s:3:"四";s:3:"四";s:4:"𠜎";s:4:"𠜎";}'

  let val = ''
  let okey
  let ktype = 'undefined'
  let vals = ''
  let count = 0

  const _utf8Size = function (str) {
    return ~-encodeURI(str).split(/%..|./).length
  }

  const _getType = function (inp) {
    let match
    let cons = ''
    const types = ['boolean', 'number', 'string', 'array']
    const jsType = typeof inp
    let type =
      jsType === 'boolean' ||
      jsType === 'number' ||
      jsType === 'string' ||
      jsType === 'function' ||
      jsType === 'undefined' ||
      jsType === 'object'
        ? jsType
        : 'undefined'

    if (type === 'object' && !inp) {
      return 'null'
    }

    if (type === 'object' && typeof inp === 'object' && inp !== null) {
      const constructorValue = getPhpObjectEntry(inp, 'constructor')
      if (typeof constructorValue !== 'function') {
        return 'object'
      }
      cons = constructorValue.toString()
      match = cons.match(/(\w+)\(/)
      if (match) {
        cons = (match[1] ?? '').toLowerCase()
      }
      for (const itemType of types) {
        if (cons === itemType) {
          type = itemType
          break
        }
      }
    }
    return type
  }

  const type = _getType(mixedValue)

  switch (type) {
    case 'function':
      val = ''
      break
    case 'boolean':
      val = 'b:' + (mixedValue ? '1' : '0')
      break
    case 'number': {
      const numericValue = Number(mixedValue)
      val = (Math.round(numericValue) === numericValue ? 'i' : 'd') + ':' + numericValue
      break
    }
    case 'string': {
      const stringValue = String(mixedValue)
      val = 's:' + _utf8Size(stringValue) + ':"' + stringValue + '"'
      break
    }
    case 'array':
    case 'object': {
      val = 'a'
      /*
      if (type === 'object') {
       var objname = mixedValue.constructor.toString().match(/(\w+)\(\)/);
       if (objname === undefined) {
        return;
       }
       objname[1] = serialize(objname[1]);
       val = 'O' + objname[1].substring(1, objname[1].length - 1);
      }
      */
      const source = toPhpArrayObject(mixedValue)
      for (const [key, entry] of Object.entries(source)) {
        ktype = _getType(entry)
        if (ktype === 'function') {
          continue
        }

        okey = key.match(/^[0-9]+$/) ? parseInt(key, 10) : key
        vals += serialize(okey) + serialize(entry)
        count++
      }
      val += ':' + count + ':{' + vals + '}'
      break
    }
    case 'undefined':
    default:
      // Fall-through
      // if the JS object has a property which contains a null value,
      // the string cannot be unserialized by PHP
      val = 'N'
      break
  }
  if (type !== 'object' && type !== 'array') {
    val += ';'
  }

  return val
}

Improve this function

Locutus is a community effort following The McDonald's Theory: we ship first iterations, hoping others will improve them. If you see something that could be better, we'd love your contribution.

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