how to use json_encode

Question

I\'m dealing with highcharts with dynamic data (values retrieved from database). By writing a query i was able to retrieve the following data from the table

Answer 1

json_encode is a convenience method to convert an array into JSON format. To have the output you provided, you will need an array of arrays. Each sub-array has keys "name" and "data", where "name" is the Item column, and "data" is another array containing values from 2011 and 2012.

$results = mysql_query("...");
$arr = array();

while ($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($results))
{
    $name = $row['Item'];
    $data = array($row['2011'], $row['2012']);

    $arr[] = array('name' => $name, 'data' => $data);
}

echo json_encode($arr);

Answer 2

1. Loop through the database results and put the results in an array
2. JSON encode the array