PHP 8.2 - implementing JSON Encoding of Multidimensional Arrays Containing Null Values
I'm sure I'm missing something obvious here, but I'm experiencing an scenario with encoding a multidimensional array that contains `null` values to JSON format using PHP 8.2... The scenario arises when I attempt to use `json_encode()` on an array where some inner arrays have null elements. The resulting JSON contains unexpected behavior, particularly with respect to the structure of the output. Here's a simplified version of the code: ```php $data = [ 'user' => 'exampleUser', 'details' => [ 'age' => null, 'location' => 'Unknown', 'preferences' => [ 'food' => null, 'music' => 'Rock' ] ], ]; $json = json_encode($data, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT); if ($json === false) { echo 'JSON encoding behavior: ' . json_last_error_msg(); } ``` When I run this code, I expect a valid JSON structure, but the output appears to ignore the `null` values entirely. Specifically, my expectation was to see the keys for `age` and `food` present in the JSON output, but those keys are missing. The output looks like this: ```json { "user": "exampleUser", "details": { "location": "Unknown", "preferences": { "music": "Rock" } } } ``` I have tried using the `JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION` and `JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES` options but to no avail. Additionally, I checked whether the scenario continues across various environments, and it does. Is there a specific configuration or setting in PHP 8.2 that I may be overlooking that affects the handling of null values in multidimensional arrays during JSON encoding? Any insights would be greatly appreciated!