Doc #81685 [Opn->Csd]: Using json_decode with an integer as first parameter doesn't return NULL

Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=81685&edit=1

 ID:                 81685
 Updated by:         [email protected]
 Reported by:        joaquimsb89 at gmail dot com
 Summary:            Using json_decode with an integer as first parameter
                     doesn't return NULL
-Status:             Open
+Status:             Closed
 Type:               Documentation Problem
 Package:            JSON related
 Operating System:   Debian & Arch
 PHP Version:        7.4.26
-Assigned To:        
+Assigned To:        bukka
 Block user comment: N
 Private report:     N

 New Comment:

As noted above, this is just a type juggling. If you want to be sure that passing number fails, declare strict types.

Without that declared, the example

var_dump(json_decode(123, true)); 

is basically just

var_dump(json_decode('123', true));


Previous Comments:
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[2021-12-30 11:04:17] a at b dot c dot de

'Also, the PHP website points that the implemented logic is for RFC 7159 - which is being adjusted by the RFC 8259, so it's unfair point to "another RFC" than the one mentioned on the website.'

The differences between the two are documented in Appendix A of RFC 8259; none of them affect the grammar, and the only one that has any impact on implementation is that JSON must be UTF-8 encoded to be valid. I don't know if this has any impact on PHP's parsing, but I doubt it, as the only legitimate non-ASCII characters would be inside JSON string values.

For further examples of JSON values, see either RFC (they have the same examples). The ECMA published standard describes the grammar in terms of railroad diagrams basically copied from JSON.org. Note that all of them allow a plain number or string as a "JSON value" (as well as objects, arrays, null, true, and false).

'A JSON text is a sequence of tokens.  The set of tokens includes six
structural characters, strings, numbers, and three literal names.'

Yes, and '123' is a number. The next paragraph after the one you quoted says: 

' A JSON text is a serialized value. Note that certain previous
   specifications of JSON constrained a JSON text to be an object or an
   array.  Implementations that generate only objects or arrays where a
   JSON text is called for will be interoperable in the sense that all
   implementations will accept these as conforming JSON texts.'

------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2021-12-30 10:42:36] a at b dot c dot de

Oh:

"The JSON Data Interchange Syntax"
https://www.ecma-international.org/publications-and-standards/standards/ecma-404/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2021-12-30 10:40:07] a at b dot c dot de

Isn't this just bog-standard type juggling? Passed an integer argument to a string parameter, it recast the integer as a string?


declare(strict_types=1);

$v = json_decode(123, true);
var_dump($v);
var_dump(json_last_error_msg());

------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2021-12-01 16:16:21] me at davidgarcia dot cat

I am not aiming to start an argument, so I won't post more messages. But I believe some clarification might help. Thanks for your understanding,

----

Won't this behaviour cause, then, a potential error when processing external requests (like API calls) as we won't be able to retrieve a "valid JSON object" that can be converted to an object via json_decode($payload, false) or to an array via json_code($payload, true)?

Even the official PHP website does not have an example for any input payload that is not a JSON-parsed string format, including {} and / or [] and bearing in mind the "key":"value" format.

https://www.php.net/json_decode

If the RFC 8259 is implemented as expected, then it looks like there's a lack of documentation on the PHP website (that leads to confusion) to cover these cases.

Also, the PHP website points that the implemented logic is for RFC 7159 - which is being adjusted by the RFC 8259, so it's unfair point to "another RFC" than the one mentioned on the website.

Extra reading would be appreciated here. Would be possible getting directions on where other examples can be found, please, so it's possible to contrast this specific case?

------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2021-12-01 15:46:44] [email protected]

RFC 8259 is a standards document; neither that Wikipedia page nor
that json.org page are.  And besides, adhering Postel's law is
almost never a bad idea.

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    https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=81685


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