JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easy for humans to read and write. It is easy for machines to parse and generate. JSON is a text format that is completely language independent but uses conventions that are familiar to programmers of the C-family of languages, including C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Perl, Python, and Ruby.
JSON is built on two structures:
A collection of name/value pairs.
An ordered list of values.
JSON files are used to store data, and can be accessed by computers to generate web pages.
PHP and MySQL can be used to create dynamic JSON files. PHP is a server-side scripting language that can be used to create web pages. MySQL is a database that can be used to store data.
In this example, we will create a JSON file that contains information about books. The JSON file will have the following structure:
[
{
“title”: “The Catcher in the Rye”,
“author”: “J.D. Salinger”,
“published”: “1951”
},
{
“title”: “To Kill a Mockingbird”,
“author”: “Harper Lee”,
“published”: “1960”
}
]
The first step is to create a MySQL database that will store the information about the books. We will call the database “books”.
Next, we will create a table in the database called “books”. The table will have the following structure:
title
author
published
The next step is to write the PHP code that will create the JSON file. The code will connect to the MySQL database and retrieve the information about the books. The code will then create a JSON file that will have the following structure:
[
{
“title”: “The Catcher in the Rye”,
“author”: “J.D. Salinger”,
“published”: “1951”
},
{
“title”: “To Kill a Mockingbird”,
“author”: “Harper Lee”,
“published”: “1960”
}
]
The code is as follows:
