How to force convert json action in Cakephp Rest - json

Question

i need force convert json action in cakephp rest response. When i set '_serialize' like this
$this->set(array('message' => $lessons, '_serialize' => array('message')));
it works but some turkish characters view in unicode like "\u00e7al\u0131\u015fma alan\u0131".
It's solution is render data with json_encode($data, JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE) but cakephp render it automatically. How to force json_encode with JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE ?
Sorry for bad English.

Answer 1

in cakePHP 3 you can say in controller:
$this->set('_jsonOptions', JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE);
$this->set('_serialize', ['zones']);
which will override the options used.

Answer 2

JsonView doesn't accept options
There's no way to inject options in the json_encode() call invoked by JsonView, as it's hard coded optionless in the _serialize() method like this:
protected function _serialize($serialize) {
// ...
if (version_compare(PHP_VERSION, '5.4.0', '>=') && Configure::read('debug')) {
return json_encode($data, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT);
}
return json_encode($data);
}
Use a custom/extended view
So if you want to use automatic serialization, then you have to create your own/an extended view that either accepts options, or hard codes your desired options.
Here's an (untested) example with hard coded options. The _serialize() method is basically just a copy with the JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE option added:
App::uses('JsonView', 'View');
class MyJsonView extends JsonView {
protected function _serialize($serialize) {
if (is_array($serialize)) {
$data = array();
foreach ($serialize as $alias => $key) {
if (is_numeric($alias)) {
$alias = $key;
}
if (array_key_exists($key, $this->viewVars)) {
$data[$alias] = $this->viewVars[$key];
}
}
$data = !empty($data) ? $data : null;
} else {
$data = isset($this->viewVars[$serialize]) ? $this->viewVars[$serialize] : null;
}
if (version_compare(PHP_VERSION, '5.4.0', '>=') && Configure::read('debug')) {
return json_encode($data, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT | JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE);
}
return json_encode($data, JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE);
}
}
See also http://book.cakephp.org/2.0/en/views.html#creating-your-own-view-classes

Answer 3

I haven't tested this myself, so it's just from the top of my head.
You could write your own View class extending JsonView and override the _serialize method.
https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/blob/4e8e266754a25748f481b2f567e45f767808be53/lib/Cake/View/JsonView.php#L131
<?php
App::uses('JsonView', 'View');
class MyCustomView extends JsonView {
protected function _serialize($serialize) {
if (is_array($serialize)) {
$data = array();
foreach ($serialize as $alias => $key) {
if (is_numeric($alias)) {
$alias = $key;
}
if (array_key_exists($key, $this->viewVars)) {
$data[$alias] = $this->viewVars[$key];
}
}
$data = !empty($data) ? $data : null;
} else {
$data = isset($this->viewVars[$serialize]) ? $this->viewVars[$serialize] : null;
}
return json_encode($data, JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE);
}
}
And then in your controller do something like
<?php
App::uses('MyCustomView', 'View');
class SomeController extends AppController {
public function someMethod() {
$this->viewClass = 'MyCustomView';
// What ever you normally do
}
}