maybe_serialize( string|array|object $data )

Serialize data, if needed.

Parameters

$data

(string|array|object) (Required) Data that might be serialized.

Return

(mixed) A scalar data.

More Information

  • Data might need to be serialized to allow it to be successfully stored and retrieved from a database in a form that PHP can understand.
  • Confusingly, strings that contain already serialized values are serialized again, resulting in a nested serialization. Other strings are unmodified.
  • A possible solution to prevent nested serialization is to check if a variable is serialized using is_serialized()
    if( !is_serialized( $data ) ) {
        $data = maybe_serialize($data);
    }
    

Source

File: wp-includes/functions.php

function maybe_serialize( $data ) {
	if ( is_array( $data ) || is_object( $data ) ) {
		return serialize( $data );
	}

	/*
	 * Double serialization is required for backward compatibility.
	 * See https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/12930
	 * Also the world will end. See WP 3.6.1.
	 */
	if ( is_serialized( $data, false ) ) {
		return serialize( $data );
	}

	return $data;
}

Changelog

Version Description
2.0.5 Introduced.

© 2003–2021 WordPress Foundation
Licensed under the GNU GPLv2+ License.
https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/maybe_serialize