# JSON Processing

PHP encodes data to JSON with `json_encode()` and decodes JSON strings with `json_decode()`. `json_decode()` returns an object by default or an associative array when the second argument is `true`. JSON is the standard format for exchanging data between PHP backends and JavaScript frontends or external APIs.

Visit the following resources to learn more:

- [@official@JSON Manual](https://www.php.net/manual/en/book.json.php)