Question

I’m using json_encode(); on this array and the double quotes within <sup id="1"> are breaking it… can anyone explain why? shouldn’t this function be built to protect this data automatically?

array(
    'Content' => array(
        'GUID' => '7dbbfdfd-d1b2-46bd-934f-0730bcf55495',
        'Publish_Date' => '2012-04-10 19:28:13',
        'Content_Type' => 'Header',
        'Content_Body_Type' => 'OVERVIEW',
        'Paperless' => 'REQUIRED_EDELIVERY',
        'Status' => 'Proof',
        'Body' => htmlentities('<h3>This is a subhead</h3>
<p>This is sample content<sup id="1">1&nbsp;</sup>with variables:&nbsp;&lt;Outside_Sales&gt;&lt;Support_Services_Program&gt;</p>
<p>Bulleted list:</p>
<ul>
<li>item 1</li>
<li>item 2</li>
<li>item 3</li>
</ul>
<p>more text</p>'),

I used http://jsonlint.com to determine the problem

Answer 1

This is likely a double escaping issue since you are using htmlentities() then json_encode().

Just use json_encode().

Generally speaking, it’s best to only escape during output. That way you can maintain raw data.