Storing a multidimensional array

I'm trying to create a data cache for a SOAP server.

How can I store a multidimensional array in a file (unknown dimensions).

I understand you can use print_r() to display the contents/heirarchy of an array but how can I store it in a file?

I was thinking of something like this :
i want to store this variable $x in a php file so that I can just use include(); to load that variable. so i just do something like

fwrite($file,'$x = '.$x);

then use

include($filename);

whenever I want to load the variable.

that, but I need to do it with multidimensional arrays.

 

The simplest way of doing this is with PHP's built-in serialize and unserialize functions.

serialize will handle all kinds of data types for you, including multidimensional arrays, and create a string representation.
However, instead of including it when trying to retrieve data, you'll need to use the unserialize function.

Example:

// To save data to file
fwrite($file, serialize($array));

// To read data back
$array = unserialize(fread($file, <length of file>));

PHP:

 

thanks. That function was actually on my mind though I didn't know what it actually does... now I know. =)