Get Data from Array

file_get_contents returns a string, not an array. You can try to use file (http://it2.php.net/manual/en/function.file.php), but keep in mind the array elements are the lines of the file

In addition, to print an element an array you can't use the object notation $result->element
but you have to use the array notation: $result['element']

Seeing your string, however, it seems rather complicate to format  as a multidimensional array: I think to have seen some inconsitence in its structure. You could check how that data are grabbed and put together: I think we can help you to create a better file, ready to be read by a function like a file or well formatted to be easily splitted into an array, but for this you should tell us how that file is built and from what data.

Cheers

Looking better at your string, it is not inconsistent but it seems very difficult to convert it into an array:

{"data":
	[
		{
			"id":"456332257759434_749673123",
			"application":
			{
				"name":"Virtual Body Shots",
				"namespace":"virtualbodyshots",
				"id":"432338926835657"
			},
			"to": 
			{
				"name":"Rich Ezeikiel","id":"749673123"
			},
			"from": 
			{
				"name":"Kim Lee",
				"id":"100000430620787"
			},
			"message": "Would you be interested in giving me a tequila body shot?",
			"created_time":"2012-12-24T11:06:04+0000"
		},
		{
			"id":"319927994792678_749673123",
			"application":
			{
				"name":"Virtual Body Shots",
				"namespace":"virtualbodyshots",
				"id":"432338926835657"
			},
			"to":
			{
				"name":"Rich Ezeikiel",
				"id":"749673123"
			},
			"from":
			{
				"name":"Zekio Richie",
				"id":"100004945084145"
			},
			"message":"Would you be interested in giving me a tequila body shot?",
			"created_time":"2012-12-24T03:13:55+0000"
		}
	],
"paging":
	{
	"previous":"https:\/\/graph.facebook.com\/749673123\/apprequests?access_token=432338926835657|LuUcubU7ml2mWX55yN8_ltrYe-Y&limit=50&since=1356347164&__paging_token=456332257759434_749673123&__previous=1","next":"https:\/\/graph.facebook.com\/749673123\/apprequests?access_token=432338926835657|LuUcubU7ml2mWX55yN8_ltrYe-Y&limit=50&until=1356318835&__paging_token=319927994792678_749673123"
	}
}

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If I'll can, I'll try to do it, but my family is waiting for me...

Cheers

Thank you for your support! That string is coming from the facebook API, i dont have any control over it. I just want to grab the names from the data. Thank you!

  //Get all app requests for user
  $request_url ="https://graph.facebook.com/" .
    $user_id . "/apprequests?" .
    $access_token;
  $requests = file_get_contents($request_url);

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I f you are only interested in getting "to" name you can try this:

$requests = file_get_contents($request_url);

preg_match_all('/(?<="to":\{"name":")[^"]*/simx', $requests, $matches);

foreach ($matches[0] as $match) {
    echo "$match<br>";
}

If i use json decode

$requests = json_decode($requests);
print_r($requests);

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i get this:

stdClass Object ( [data] => Array ( [0] => stdClass Object ( [id] => 456332257759434_749673123 [application] => stdClass Object ( [name] => Virtual Body Shots [namespace] => virtualbodyshots [id] => 432338926835657 ) [to] => stdClass Object ( [name] => Rich Ezeikiel [id] => 749673123 ) [from] => stdClass Object ( [name] => Kim Lee [id] => 100000430620787 ) [message] => Would you be interested in giving me a tequila body shot? [created_time] => 2012-12-24T11:06:04+0000 ) [1] => stdClass Object ( [id] => 319927994792678_749673123 [application] => stdClass Object ( [name] => Virtual Body Shots [namespace] => virtualbodyshots [id] => 432338926835657 ) [to] => stdClass Object ( [name] => Rich Ezeikiel [id] => 749673123 ) [from] => stdClass Object ( [name] => Zekio Richie [id] => 100004945084145 ) [message] => Would you be interested in giving me a tequila body shot? [created_time] => 2012-12-24T03:13:55+0000 ) ) [paging] => stdClass Object ( [previous] => https://graph.facebook.com/749673123/apprequests?access_token=432338926835657|LuUcubU7ml2mWX55yN8_ltrYe-Y&limit=50&since=1356347164&__paging_token=456332257759434_749673123&__previous=1 [next] => https://graph.facebook.com/749673123/apprequests?access_token=432338926835657|LuUcubU7ml2mWX55yN8_ltrYe-Y&limit=50&until=1356318835&__paging_token=319927994792678_749673123 ) )

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extract your json_decoded stdClass Object it like that:

//name:  
$request->data->to['name'];
//to:  
$request->data->from['name'];

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Did not work:   $requests->data->to['name'];

Thank you Ray_Paseur!

It seams that expert exchange is about providing the prethought solution, without any effort on the authors side.
I prefer not to get the points instead of following such a policy. For me experts-exchange is providing the idea how to solve an issue, then the rest should be thought out and researched by the author, so he/she can learn something on the long run.

mcnute

@mcnute

I tried echo $requests->data->to['name'];
I tried print $requests->data->to['name'];

neither worked.

Thanks for the points and Merry Christmas.  To the point about learning ideas about how to solve a problem (a very good point), the takeaway message might be to learn to use and love var_dump() -- once you can see the data, the programming usually writes itself!