There are two common reasons to convert a DataObject back out again:

• a caller expects an array or plain object
• one key contains an array and you want to read it with fixed element types

¶getArray()

Use getArray() to read an array value:

use GT\DataObject\DataObject;

$report = new DataObject()
	->with("scores", ["1", "2", "3.5"]);

$scores = $report->getArray("scores");

If the key is missing, getArray() returns null.

If the stored value is a nested DataObject, getArray() first converts it with asArray().

¶Fixed-type arrays

Pass a second argument to cast or validate each element:

use GT\DataObject\DataObject;

$report = new DataObject()
	->with("scores", ["1", "2", "3.5"]);

$scores = $report->getArray("scores", "int");
var_dump($scores); // [1, 2, 3]

For built-in primitive checks, each element is cast individually. Common examples are:

• "int"
• "float"
• "bool"
• "string"

Class and interface names work too:

use DateTimeImmutable;
use DateTimeInterface;
use GT\DataObject\DataObject;

$dates = new DataObject()
	->with("dates", [
		new DateTimeImmutable("2024-01-01"),
		new DateTimeImmutable("2024-02-01"),
	]);

$typedDates = $dates->getArray("dates", DateTimeInterface::class);

When a class or interface name is used, values are not cast. They must already be instances of the requested type, otherwise TypeError is thrown.

Passing a type name that does not exist also throws TypeError.

¶asArray()

asArray() returns the whole object as a PHP array:

use GT\DataObject\DataObject;

$user = new DataObject()
	->with("name", "Ada")
	->with("address", (new DataObject())->with("town", "Leeds"));

print_r($user->asArray());

Nested DataObject instances are converted recursively.

¶asObject()

asObject() performs the same recursive conversion, but returns a plain object graph:

$userObject = $user->asObject();
echo $userObject->address->town;

¶JSON serialisation

DataObject implements JsonSerializable, and jsonSerialize() delegates to asArray():

echo json_encode($user), PHP_EOL;

That means a nested DataObject becomes nested JSON objects and arrays in the final output.

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Next, have a look at Examples for a few complete patterns you can adapt in your own project.