PHP How to Convert Array to Object Easily

In PHP, you can convert an array to an object by casting it with (object)$array or by using json_decode(json_encode($array)) to get a standard class object.

Examples

Input['name' => 'Alice', 'age' => 25]

Outputobject(stdClass)#1 (2) { ["name"]=> string(5) "Alice" ["age"]=> int(25) }

Input[1, 2, 3]

Outputobject(stdClass)#1 (3) { ["0"]=> int(1) ["1"]=> int(2) ["2"]=> int(3) }

Input[]

Outputobject(stdClass)#1 (0) { }

How to Think About It

To convert an array to an object in PHP, think of the array keys as property names and the values as property values. Casting the array to an object creates a simple object where keys become properties. Alternatively, encoding the array to JSON and decoding it back as an object creates a standard class object with the same properties.

Algorithm

1

Get the input array.

2

Cast the array to an object using (object) operator or encode to JSON and decode as object.

3

Return the resulting object.

Code

php

<?php
$array = ['name' => 'Alice', 'age' => 25];
$obj = (object)$array;
print_r($obj);

// Alternative method
$obj2 = json_decode(json_encode($array));
print_r($obj2);
?>

Output

stdClass Object
(
    [name] => Alice
    [age] => 25
)
stdClass Object
(
    [name] => Alice
    [age] => 25
)

Dry Run

Let's trace converting ['name' => 'Alice', 'age' => 25] to an object using (object) cast.

1

Start with array

array = ['name' => 'Alice', 'age' => 25]

2

Cast array to object

object = (object) array

3

Resulting object properties

object->name = 'Alice', object->age = 25

Step	Action	Value
1	Input array	['name' => 'Alice', 'age' => 25]
2	Cast to object	(object) array
3	Object properties	name: 'Alice', age: 25

Why This Works

Step 1: Casting array to object

Using (object)$array converts the array keys into object properties directly.

Step 2: Using JSON encode/decode

Encoding the array to JSON and decoding it back as an object creates a stdClass object with the same properties.

Alternative Approaches

Using (object) cast

php

<?php
$array = ['a' => 1, 'b' => 2];
$obj = (object)$array;
print_r($obj);
?>

Simple and fast, but creates a generic object without nested object conversion.

Using json_encode and json_decode

php

<?php
$array = ['a' => 1, 'b' => 2];
$obj = json_decode(json_encode($array));
print_r($obj);
?>

Converts nested arrays to nested objects, but slower due to encoding and decoding.

Manual object creation

php

<?php
$array = ['a' => 1, 'b' => 2];
$obj = new stdClass();
foreach ($array as $key => $value) {
    $obj->$key = $value;
}
print_r($obj);
?>

More control over conversion, useful for custom processing.

Complexity: O(n) time, O(n) space

Time Complexity

Conversion requires visiting each element once, so time grows linearly with array size.

Space Complexity

A new object is created with properties matching array keys, so space grows linearly.

Which Approach is Fastest?

Casting with (object) is fastest for shallow arrays; JSON methods handle nested arrays but are slower.

Approach	Time	Space	Best For
(object) cast	O(n)	O(n)	Simple, shallow arrays
json_encode/json_decode	O(n)	O(n)	Nested arrays to objects
Manual foreach	O(n)	O(n)	Custom conversion logic