这是什么样的对象？

I'm trying to load this object in python or PHP, but I'm now trying to know if there are libraries that are already written so that I don't parse the document myself.

variable = [["1","arbitrary string","another arbitrary string"],
["2","arbitrary string","another arbitrary string"],
["3","arbitrary string","another arbitrary string"],
["4","arbitrary string","another arbitrary string"]];
another_variable = "arbitrary string";

Any hints will be appreciated. Thanks

This looks a lot like JSON. PHP has some built-in functions to handle it - json_decode, for instance: http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.json-decode.php.

It looks like Python also has a JSON library built-in: http://docs.python.org/3/library/json.html (the same library is available in Python 2 as well, if you're still using the "older" version).

That is a JSON encoded string, representing an array of arrays.

You can make it a PHP native element using :

$var = json_decode($variable);

Do note that json_decode() is build-in to PHP after 5.2 only. Otherwise you'll have to get it from PEAR.