The Ultimate Guide: Why Does PHP json_decode Fail with a "Control Character Error"?

Frequently encountering the "Control character error, possibly incorrectly encoded" exception from PHP's `json_decode` function? This issue usually isn't caused by the JSON data itself, but by how you define the string in your PHP code. This article dives deep into the root cause, explaining the crucial difference between single and double quotes when handling escape sequences, and provides three effective solutions to eliminate this frustrating error for good.