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Why serialize arrays and objects
Object serialization in PHP and modern OO Language is very easy, and can be used for different situation :- store an object in database so that you can interact with it in an asynchronous process,
- store a serialized array in database avoid creating a lot of uninteresting column in a table. (e.g. : if you have to store some data but without need to search amongs them it would be a waste to create a column for each of your data..). It is a also good solution to build extensible db models.
- object and array serialization is also practical save data in files (file_put_contents($fileName, serialized($myArray)).
Despite its simplicty, serialization brings some problems. This 'toolsite' will give you some tools and docs to help you use it without trouble.
http://unserialize.net/ will enable you to translate and repair serialized data. It is a quick tool to easily read a serialized data if you have to debug or find an information quickly without using your backoffice.
