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The Daily Insight

What is return type of JSON?

Author

Andrew Mclaughlin

Updated on February 27, 2026

JSON isn’t a datatype. It’s a structured string. So if your function returns JSON, you’re returning a string, like a serialized object would also be.

How do I make my JSON readable in PHP?

Pretty Print the JSON in PHP

  1. Use the HTML Tag and the JSON_PRETTY_PRINT Option to Prettify the JSON String in PHP.
  2. Use the application/json and JSON_PRETTY_PRINT Options to Prettify the JSON String in PHP.
  3. Use the json_encode() and json_decode() Functions to Prettify the JSON String in PHP.

What is JSON response in PHP?

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easily read and written by humans and parsed and generated by machines. The json_encode function returns the JSON representation of the given value. The json_decode takes a JSON encoded string and converts it into a PHP variable.

What is the use of return in PHP?

return returns program control to the calling module. Execution resumes at the expression following the called module’s invocation. If called from within a function, the return statement immediately ends execution of the current function, and returns its argument as the value of the function call.

What are JSON data types?

According to the JSON standard, a JSON value is one of the following JSON-language data types: object, array, number, string, Boolean (value true or false ), or null (value null ). All values except objects and arrays are scalar.

What does Json_encode return?

PHP json_encode() is a built-in function that converts a PHP value to JSON value. Objects in PHP can be converted into JSON by using a function called json_encode(). The json_encode() function returns the string, if the function works.

What does json_decode return?

Normally, json_decode() will return an object of \stdClass if the top level item in the JSON object is a dictionary or an indexed array if the JSON object is an array. It will also return scalar values or NULL for certain scalar values, such as simple strings, “true” , “false” , and “null” .

What is JSON in HTML?

HTML is a document specification designed to contain display information in a human readable format. JSON is a structured data storage format optimized for readability, simplicity, and movement between systems.

What is JSON data structure?

JSON structure. As described above, a JSON is a string whose format very much resembles JavaScript object literal format. You can include the same basic data types inside JSON as you can in a standard JavaScript object — strings, numbers, arrays, booleans, and other object literals.

What is a JSON array in Java?

JSON Array. JSON array represents ordered list of values. JSON array can store multiple values. It can store string, number, boolean or object in JSON array. In JSON array, values must be separated by comma.

What is a JSON key?

A JSON Web Key (JWK) is a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data structure that represents a cryptographic key. This specification also defines a JWK Set JSON data structure that represents a set of JWKs.