How to Pass JSON Data in a URL using CURL in PHP ?

In this article, we will see how to pass the JSON Data in a URL using CURL in PHP, along with understanding the different ways for passing the data in a URL through the illustrations. The cURL stands for client URL, which allows us to connect with other URLs & use their responses in our code, i.e., it is a tool for sending and getting files using URL syntax. The cURL facilitates the way that can hit a URL from our code to get an HTML response from it. The cURL is also used in command lines or scripts for data transfer. Here, we need to pass JSON data in a URL using cURL in PHP and handle the POST request. This task can be accomplished with the help of the following ways:

• cURL POST Request
• cURL GET Request
• cURL PUT Request

We will explore all the above approaches & understand them through examples.

Syntax for passing JSON data in a URL using cURL:

<?php
 $url = "https://reqres.in/api/users";
 $ch = curl_init();
 curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL,$url);
 curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER,true);
 $resp = curl_exec($ch);
 curl_close($ch);
?>

• By using the cURL POST Request

Approach for POST Request:

• We need to specify the URL, where the JSON data need to be sent.
• Using curl_init(), we initialize cURL.
• Put JSON data in a PHP array and set up JSON data.
• And using json_encode() encode it into JSON string.
• Setting the options for the cURL.
  • Fetching $url using CURLOPT_URL.
  • Switching request type from get to post using CURLOPT_POST.
  • Now attach the encoded string in the post field using CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS.
  • Setting the curl option RETURNTRANSFER to true so that it returns the response instead of just outputting it.
  • Using the CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER set the Content-Type to application/JSON.
• Setting multiple options for a cURL session. Using the curl_setopt_array() function, setting a large number of options for cURL without repetitively calling it.
• Using curl_exec() to execute the POST request.
• Decode the response and Return the response as a string.
• Close the cURL.

Example 1: This example illustrates passing the JSON Data in a URL using cURL in PHP by using the cURL POST Request.

Output:

Employee: Aman
Job: Data Scientist
Company: GeeksForGeeks
id: 553
createdAt: 2022-12-02T12:32:42.420Z

• By using cURL GET Request

Approach for GET Request:

• We need to specify the URL, Where the JSON data is going to be sent.
• Using curl_init() we initialize cURL.
• Next, we have to set options for the cURL.
• Fetching $url using CURLOPT_URL.
• Setting the curl option RETURNTRANSFER to true so that it returns the response instead of just outputting it.
• Setting multiple options for a cURL session. Using the curl_setopt_array() function, setting a large number of options for cURL without repetitively calling it.
• Using curl_exec() to execute the GET request.
• Decode the response and Return the response as a string.
• Close the cURL.

Example 2: This example illustrates passing the JSON Data in a URL using cURL in PHP by using the cURL GET Request.

Output:

Array ( [page] => 2 [per_page] => 6 [total] => 12 [total_pages] => 2 [data] => 
Array ( [0] => Array ( [id] => 7 [email] => michael.lawson@reqres.in [first_name] => 
Michael [last_name] => Lawson [avatar] => https://reqres.in/img/faces/7-image.jpg ) 
[1] => Array ( [id] => 8 [email] => lindsay.ferguson@reqres.in [first_name] => 
Lindsay [last_name] => Ferguson [avatar] => https://reqres.in/img/faces/8-image.jpg ) 
[2] => Array ( [id] => 9 [email] => tobias.funke@reqres.in [first_name] => 
Tobias [last_name] => Funke [avatar] => https://reqres.in/img/faces/9-image.jpg ) 
[3] => Array ( [id] => 10 [email] => byron.fields@reqres.in [first_name] => Byron [last_name] => 
Fields [avatar] => https://reqres.in/img/faces/10-image.jpg ) 
[4] => Array ( [id] => 11 [email] => george.edwards@reqres.in [first_name] => George [last_name] => 
Edwards [avatar] => https://reqres.in/img/faces/11-image.jpg ) 
[5] =>Array ( [id] => 12 [email] => rachel.howell@reqres.in [first_name] => Rachel [last_name] => 
Howell [avatar] => https://reqres.in/img/faces/12-image.jpg ) ) [support] => 
Array ( [url] => https://reqres.in/#support-heading [text][/text] => To keep ReqRes free, 
contributions towards server costs are appreciated! ) )

• By using cURL PUT Request

Approach for PUT Request:

• We need to specify the URL, where the JSON data need to be sent.
• Using curl_init(), we initialize cURL.
• Put JSON data in a PHP array and set up JSON data.
• And using json_encode() encode it into JSON string.
• Setting the options for the cURL.
  • Fetching $url using CURLOPT_URL.
  • Now attach the encoded string in the post field using CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS.
  • Setting the curl option RETURNTRANSFER to true so that it returns the response instead of just outputting it.
  • Using the CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER set the Content-Type to application/JSON.
• Instead of using CURLOPT_POST, we use here CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST for specifying the PUT request.
• Setting multiple options for a cURL session. Using the curl_setopt_array() function, setting a large number of options for cURL without repetitively calling it.
• Using curl_exec() to execute the PUT request.
• Decode the response and Return the response as a string.
• Close the curl.

Example 3: This example illustrates passing the JSON Data in a URL using cURL in PHP by using the cURL PUT Request.

Output:

Employee: Aman
Job: Data Scientist
Company: GeeksForGeeks
updatedAt: 2022-12-02T12:34:59.262Z