PHP JSON Parser - Read large JSON from any source in a memory-efficient way

Published on by

JSON Parser is a zero-dependencies pull parser to read large JSON from any source in a memory-efficient way. You can read JSON from any source, such as a string, URL, etc., and iterate through it like so:

// a source is anything that can provide a JSON, in this case an endpoint
$source = 'https://randomuser.me/api/1.4?seed=json-parser&results=5';
 
foreach (new JsonParser($source) as $key => $value) {
// instead of loading the whole JSON, we keep in memory only one key and value at a time
}

If you don't want to use foreach this parser also comes with a traverse method that looks like the following:

JsonParser::parse($source)->traverse(function (mixed $value, string|int $key, JsonParser $parser) {
// lazily load one key and value at a time; we can also access the parser if needed
});

The above examples demonstrate using a URL to process JSON, but the package supports several data sources. At the time of writing, the readme lists the following sources:

  • strings, e.g. {"foo":"bar"}
  • iterables, i.e. arrays or instances of Traversable
  • file paths, e.g. /path/to/large.json
  • resources, e.g. streams
  • API endpoint URLs, e.g. https://endpoint.json or any instance of Psr\Http\Message\UriInterface
  • PSR-7 requests, i.e. any instance of Psr\Http\Message\RequestInterface
  • PSR-7 messages, i.e. any instance of Psr\Http\Message\MessageInterface
  • PSR-7 streams, i.e. any instance of Psr\Http\Message\StreamInterface
  • Laravel HTTP client requests, i.e. any instance of Illuminate\Http\Client\Request
  • Laravel HTTP client responses, i.e. any instance of Illuminate\Http\Client\Response
  • user-defined sources, i.e. any instance of Cerbero\JsonParser\Sources\Source

Another amazing feature of this library that I want to point out is pointers which are useful to extract only specific subtrees from a large JSON dataset:

// Select the first gender result
$json = JsonParser::parse($source)->pointer('/results/0/gender');
 
foreach ($json as $key => $value) {
// 1st and only iteration: $key === 'gender', $value === 'female'
}
 
// Get all gender results
$json = JsonParser::parse($source)->pointer('/results/-/gender');
// ...

This package has many other features I still need to mention that you should check out! For example, it has a progress API to track the parsing progress (i.e., completion percentage, bytes processed, etc). Check out this package, get full installation instructions, and view the source code on GitHub!

Paul Redmond photo

Staff writer at Laravel News. Full stack web developer and author.

Cube

Laravel Newsletter

Join 40k+ other developers and never miss out on new tips, tutorials, and more.

image
No Compromises

Join the Mastering Laravel community to level up your skills and get trusted advice

Visit No Compromises

Laravel Forge

Easily create and manage your servers and deploy your Laravel applications in seconds.

Laravel Forge

Tinkerwell

The must-have code runner for Laravel developers. Tinker with AI, autocompletion and instant feedback on local and production environments.

Tinkerwell
No Compromises logo

No Compromises

Joel and Aaron, the two seasoned devs from the No Compromises podcast, are now available to hire for your Laravel project. ⬧ Flat rate of $7500/mo. ⬧ No lengthy sales process. ⬧ No contracts. ⬧ 100% money back guarantee.

No Compromises

Kirschbaum

Providing innovation and stability to ensure your web application succeeds.

Kirschbaum
Shift logo

Shift

Running an old Laravel version? Instant, automated Laravel upgrades and code modernization to keep your applications fresh.

Shift

Bacancy

Supercharge your project with a seasoned Laravel developer with 4-6 years of experience for just $2500/month. Get 160 hours of dedicated expertise & a risk-free 15-day trial. Schedule a call now!

Bacancy

Lucky Media

Bespoke software solutions built for your business. We ♥ Laravel

Lucky Media

Lunar: Laravel E-Commerce

E-Commerce for Laravel. An open-source package that brings the power of modern headless e-commerce functionality to Laravel.

Lunar: Laravel E-Commerce

LaraJobs

The official Laravel job board

LaraJobs

Larafast: Laravel SaaS Starter Kit

Larafast is a Laravel SaaS Starter Kit with ready-to-go features for Payments, Auth, Admin, Blog, SEO, and beautiful themes. Available with Vue and Livewire stacks.

Larafast: Laravel SaaS Starter Kit

SaaSykit: Laravel SaaS Starter Kit

SaaSykit is a Laravel SaaS Starter Kit that comes with all features required to run a modern SaaS. Payments, Beautiful Checkout, Admin Panel, User dashboard, Auth, Ready Components, Stats, Blog, Docs and more.

SaaSykit: Laravel SaaS Starter Kit

Rector

Your partner for seamless Laravel upgrades, cutting costs, and accelerating innovation for successful companies

Rector

The latest

View all →

Backpack turns 8 years old, celebrates with 40% discount

Read article

Create a DateTime from a Timestamp With this New Method Coming to PHP 8.4

Read article

Neovim Plugin to for Navigating Laravel and Livewire Components

Read article

Laravel Herd v1.7 is out with updates to the dump UI

Read article

Share Error Package for Laravel's New Exception Page

Read article

Sentry and Laravel announce a new partnership

Read article