tsqlphpunserialize
Unserialize PHP serialized data in T-SQL
Originally posted on Stack Exchange: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11955723/unserialize-php-serialized-data-in-t-sql/11958773?noredirect=1#comment47150022_11958773
I am trying to extract a gift card code from a Magento order. Some other code uses the Magento API to retrieve the order info as XML from Magento and insert the XML into a MS SQL Server record. Using T-SQL I can use XML functions to parse the XML that was retrieved from the Magento API and get almost everything I need, but the only place the actual gift card code is stored is in the gift_cards field which happens to be a php serialized string.
Examples: a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:1:"i";s:1:"1";s:1:"c";s:12:"00XCY8S3ZXCU";s:1:"a";d:119;s:2:"ba";d:119;s:10:"authorized";d:119;}} a:3:{i:0;a:5:{s:1:"i";s:2:"10";s:1:"c";s:12:"045EMJJWRCF1";s:1:"a";d:100;s:2:"ba";d:100;s:10:"authorized";d:100;}i:1;a:5:{s:1:"i";s:2:"11";s:1:"c";s:12:"06DUQ7Z5GVT7";s:1:"a";d:101;s:2:"ba";d:101;s:10:"authorized";d:101;}i:2;a:5:{s:1:"i";s:2:"12";s:1:"c";s:12:"07A6MRYW511J";s:1:"a";d:102;s:2:"ba";d:102;s:10:"authorized";d:102;}}
The gift card code is the value in the array with the key of “c” such as: 00XCY8S3ZXCU 045EMJJWRCF1 06DUQ7Z5GVT7 07A6MRYW511J
I’m currently trying to tackle this by parsing the value using a T-SQL function, which is like trying to drive a nail with a screw driver. Apparently this has been asked before here and the only suggestion was to build a parser from scratch in T-SQL, but that using PHP to unserialize it was the better option.
It would be nice if Magento didn’t store PHP serialized data in their database, and then serve it out still serialized in their web services, but that’s what I have to work with. I would consider using C# to convert it and store it as a separate field in the database, but it would be a lot more convenient to be able to parse the data in T-SQL. If I were to use C# to parse and unserialize the PHP object I’d probably store it as XML back in the database because that’s a much better format to exchange the data in.
This is what I was able to come up with myself. I was encouraged by a post about parsing JSON and decided to figure it out for serialized php objects. I took a completely different approach though.
The serialized php string: a:3:{ i:0; a:5:{ s:1:"i"; s:2:"10"; s:1:"c"; s:12:"045EMJJWRCF1"; s:1:"a"; d:100; s:2:"ba"; d:100; s:10:"authorized"; d:100; } i:1; a:5:{ s:1:"i"; s:2:"11"; s:1:"c"; s:12:"06DUQ7Z5GVT7"; s:1:"a"; d:101; s:2:"ba"; d:101; s:10:"authorized"; d:101; } i:2; a:5:{ s:1:"i"; s:2:"12"; s:1:"c"; s:12:"07A6MRYW511J"; s:1:"a"; d:102; s:2:"ba"; d:102; s:10:"authorized"; d:102; } }
My query to get the results: select * from fnParsePhpSerializedString('a:3:{i:0;a:5:{s:1:"i";s:2:"10";s:1:"c";s:12:"045EMJJWRCF1";s:1:"a";d:100;s:2:"ba";d:100;s:10:"authorized";d:100;}i:1;a:5:{s:1:"i";s:2:"11";s:1:"c";s:12:"06DUQ7Z5GVT7";s:1:"a";d:101;s:2:"ba";d:101;s:10:"authorized";d:101;}i:2;a:5:{s:1:"i";s:2:"12";s:1:"c";s:12:"07A6MRYW511J";s:1:"a";d:102;s:2:"ba";d:102;s:10:"authorized";d:102;}}')
The results of the query: element_id parent_id var_name var_type var_length value_int value_string value_decimal
1 0 NULL a 3 NULL NULL NULL 2 1 0 a 5 NULL NULL NULL 3 1 1 a 5 NULL NULL NULL 4 1 2 a 5 NULL NULL NULL 5 2 i s 2 NULL 10 NULL 6 2 c s 12 NULL 045EMJJWRCF1 NULL 7 2 a d NULL NULL NULL 100 8 2 ba d NULL NULL NULL 100 9 2 authorized d NULL NULL NULL 100 10 3 i s 2 NULL 11 NULL 11 3 c s 12 NULL 06DUQ7Z5GVT7 NULL 12 3 a d NULL NULL NULL 101 13 3 ba d NULL NULL NULL 101 14 3 authorized d NULL NULL NULL 101 15 4 i s 2 NULL 12 NULL 16 4 c s 12 NULL 07A6MRYW511J NULL 17 4 a d NULL NULL NULL 102 18 4 ba d NULL NULL NULL 102 19 4 authorized d NULL NULL NULL 102
If I just wanted the gift card codes I can write a query like this: select value_string from fnParsePhpSerializedString('a:3:{i:0;a:5:{s:1:"i";s:2:"10";s:1:"c";s:12:"045EMJJWRCF1";s:1:"a";d:100;s:2:"ba";d:100;s:10:"authorized";d:100;}i:1;a:5:{s:1:"i";s:2:"11";s:1:"c";s:12:"06DUQ7Z5GVT7";s:1:"a";d:101;s:2:"ba";d:101;s:10:"authorized";d:101;}i:2;a:5:{s:1:"i";s:2:"12";s:1:"c";s:12:"07A6MRYW511J";s:1:"a";d:102;s:2:"ba";d:102;s:10:"authorized";d:102;}}') where parent_id != 0 and var_name = 'c'
Results: value_string
045EMJJWRCF1 06DUQ7Z5GVT7 07A6MRYW511J
Here is the T-SQL function for parsing the serialized PHP string:
fnParsePhpSerializedString.sql
And though it doesn't account for all serialized types and such, it was enough for my purpose here, and the included comments should help to guide anyone that needs to adapt it for their own use, or extend it's functionality.