how to encode json key as integer instead of string

@baskarks JSON only has numeric arrays, or objects. If the keys are numbers, then JSON will interpret it as a numeric array and reset the keys.

In JSON, keys in objects are always of type string. This is a requirement of the JSON specification and not something that can be changed. When you encode an associative array in PHP with json_encode, the keys are always output as strings in the resulting JSON object.

If you have a numerically indexed array, and you want the indices to appear as numbers in the JSON output, you can use a plain (non-associative) array. In this case, json_encode will output a JSON array, not a JSON object, and the indices will not be included in the output.

Here's an example:

$array = array(1 => 'foo', 2 => 'bar', 3 => 'baz'); echo json_encode($array);

This will output: {"1":"foo","2":"bar","3":"baz"}

But if you use a non-associative array: $array = array('foo', 'bar', 'baz'); echo json_encode($array);

This will output: ["foo","bar","baz"]

In the second example, the indices (0, 1, 2) are not included in the output. They are implied by the order of the elements in the array.