PHP关联数组的JSON模式

Question

I'm trying to generate JSON from data organized via PHP, and I want to make sure I'm structuring it in a way that makes sense as JSON. Having dealt with data like this more often in PHP than JSON, I think I may be overusing PHP associative arrays / JSON objects with data I'd like to keep ordered for populating a form select box.

The data involves items that each have an array of associated dates; each date has an array of times and each time has a location and URL that may be unique to that date-time combination. Right now, I'm using dates and times as keys in JSON objects, which is seeming both awkward to manipulate with JS and possibly a problem for keeping the data ordered. The JSON currently looks like the following:

{
  "1":{
    "name":"Item 1",
    "dates":{
      "July 21, 2015":{
        "4:30PM":{
          "location":"Place 1",
          "url":"example.com/item1-timed-430"
        }
      },
      "July 22, 2015":{
        "9:30AM":{
          "location":"Earth Hall",
          "url":"example.com/item1-timed-930"
        }
      },
      "July 23, 2015":{
        "9:30AM":{
          "location":"Earth Hall",
          "url":"example.com/item1-timed-930"
        }
      }
    },
    "base_url":"example.com/base-item1"
  },
  "2":{
    "name":"Item 2",
    "dates":{
      "July 21, 2015":{
        "9:30AM":{
          "location":"Place 3",
          "url":"example.com/item2-timed-930"
        },
        "12:30PM":{
          "location":"Place 3",
          "url":"example.com/item2-timed-1230"
        }
      },
      "July 22, 2015":{
        "4:30PM":{
          "location":"Place 1",
          "url":"example.com/item2-timed-430"
        }
      }
    },
    "base_url":"example.com/base-item2"
  }
}

Original questions : First of all - should this be refactored to use JSON lists (and PHP non-associative arrays) if I need chronological order to be preserved? It seems to be preserved currently, but I realize that may be different across browsers.

Second - how should I refactor? Add to each item a list of dates, a list of times, and use the current dates object as a map of dates to associated times with the unique location and URL data? Is there a simpler way to do it?

Edited question to specify a coding problem : Can I expect chronological order to be preserved across browsers? If not, what should I change in the data structure to ensure I can access an ordered list of dates and times, along with the specific date-time URL and location data?

Answer 1

This is an opinionated question...

However, the format of the JSON depends heavily on the application that's going to utilize it. If it's easier to deal with associative arrays, and looping through them isn't a problem, then go for it. Ideally, your data should be structured in a hierarchical structure that makes sense to the developer and the application.