issue-link js-issue-link" data-error-text="Failed to load title" data-id="7850007" data-permission-text="Title is private" data-url="https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/discussions/4324" data-hovercard-type="discussion" data-hovercard-url="/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/discussions/4324/hovercard" href="https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/discussions/4324">PHPOffice#4324. Serialization was explicity forbidden by PR PHPOffice#3199. This was in response to several issues, and concern that the Spreadsheet object contained non-serializable properties. This PR restores the ability to serialize a spreadsheet. Json serialization remains unsupported. Fix PHPOffice#1757, closed in Nov. 2023 but just reopened. At the time, Cell property `formulaAttributes` was stored as a SimpleXmlElement. Dynamic arrays PR PHPOffice#3962 defined that property as `null|array<string, string>` in the doc block. However, it left the formal Php type for the property as `mixed`. This PR changes the formal type to `?array`. Fix PHPOffice#1741, closed in Dec. 2020 but just reopened. Calculation property `referenceHelper` was defined as static, and, since static properties don't take part in serialization, this caused a problem after unserialization. There are at least 3 trivial ways to deal with this - make it an instance property, reinitialize it when unserialized using a wakeup method, or remove the property altogether. This PR uses the last of those 3. Calculation does have other static properties. Almost all of these deal with locale. So serialize/unserialize might wind up using a default locale when non-default is desired (but not necessarily required). If that is a problem for end-users, it will be a new one, and I will work on a solution if and when the time comes. Static property `returnArrayAsType` is potentially problematic. However, instance property `instanceArrayReturnType` is the preferred method of handling this, and using that will avoid any problems. Issue PHPOffice#932 also dealt with serialization. I do not have the wherewithal to investigate that issue. If it is not solved by this and the earlier PR's, I will have to leave it to others to re-raise it. Spreadsheet `copy` is now simplified to use serialize followed by unserialize. Formal tests are added. In addition, I have made a number of informal tests on very complicated spreadsheets, and it has performed correctly for all of them.

Commits

Commits on Jan 26, 2025

Allow Spreadsheet Serialization