Instead of using 2 dimensional arrays to represent tables, my supervisor implodes the arrays on a delimiter before loading them into the other arrays... then explodes them again when he needs to use them.

Why? "It's easier"

s/It's easier/The only way I know how to solve this/g

php's way of mixing up arrays/lists/hashes doesn't help either, i usually stick to array() for everything to avoid confusion and getting unexpected shit, but sometimes php just surprise you, like json_decode returning an stdObject, so i can see where he's coming from

@Qchmqs In true php fassion though, json_decode will give you an array back if you set $assoc to true.

learned that the hard way