Fastest way to store easily editable config data in PHP?

Question

What is the fastest way to store config data in PHP so that it is easily changeable (via PHP)? First I thought about having config.php file, but I can't edit it on fly with PHP, at least not very simply? Then I thought about having XML files, but parsing them for each HTTP request is overwhelming. So, I thought about INI files, but then I figured that INI files are restricted to int/string values. In the end, I have come to the conclusion that JSON encoded file is the best:

$config['database']['host'] = ...;
$config['another']['something'] = ...;
...
json_encode($config);

Since JSON can store arrays, I can create quite complex configurations with it, and it parses faster than INI files.

My question: did I miss something or is there a better way to do this?

Answer 1

Serialize is a better option than JSON for storing PHP variables.

I like to use var_export for saving config file, and using include for loading config info. This makes it easy to save config data progmatically AND makes the data easy to read/write for a person as well:

config.php:

return array(
 'var1'=> 'value1',
 'var2'=> 'value2',
);

test.php:

$config = include 'config.php';
$config['var2']= 'value3';
file_put_contents('config.php', '<?php return ' . var_export($config, true) . ';');

Updated config.php now contains the following:

return array(
 'var1'=> 'value1',
 'var2'=> 'value3',
);