How to extract and access data from JSON with PHP?

> This is intended to be a general reference question and answer covering many of the never-ending *"How do I access data in my JSON?"* questions. It is here to handle the broad basics of decoding JSON in PHP and accessing the results. I have the JSON: { "type": "donut", "name": "Cake", "toppings": [ { "id": "5002", "type": "Glazed" }, { "id": "5006", "type": "Chocolate with Sprinkles" }, { "id": "5004", "type": "Maple" } ] } How do I decode this in PHP and access the resulting data?