Wrap json_decode so invalid input gives you a clear false rather than a silent null. PHP 7.3+ JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR makes this cleaner — but the wrapper preserves a simple bool API.
PHP
<?php
function safeJsonDecode(string $json, bool $assoc = true, int $depth = 64): array|object|null|false {
if ($json === '') return false;
try {
return json_decode($json, $assoc, $depth, JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);
} catch (JsonException $e) {
error_log('JSON decode failed: ' . $e->getMessage());
return false;
}
}
$data = safeJsonDecode('{"ok": true}'); // ['ok' => true]
$bad = safeJsonDecode('{not json}'); // false
if ($bad === false) { /* handle parse error */ }Save your own code snippets
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