39 PHP String Functions You Can't Live Without

This article provides a concise overview of frequently used PHP string functions, complete with illustrative examples.

Key Highlights:

• Essential Developer Tools: The 39 PHP string functions covered are vital for any PHP developer, significantly improving data manipulation within web applications.
• Security Focus: Functions like addslashes() and htmlspecialchars() are critical for security, preventing vulnerabilities such as SQL injection and XSS attacks by safely handling user input.
• Data Presentation: Leverage functions such as chunk_split(), number_format(), and money_format() to enhance data readability and presentation, particularly beneficial for reports and user interfaces.
• Encoding/Decoding: Master functions like convert_uudecode(), convert_uuencode(), quoted_printable_decode(), and quoted_printable_encode() for efficient data encoding and decoding, ensuring data integrity during transmission.
• String Modification: Utilize functions like explode(), implode(), str_split(), and trim() for efficient string manipulation, crucial for data parsing and preparation.
• Internationalization: Employ localeconv() and nl_langinfo() to adapt applications to various locales, ensuring data displays correctly based on regional preferences.
• Advanced String Comparison: Use levenshtein(), metaphone(), and similar_text() for advanced string analysis, valuable for search functionality and data validation.

Selected Function Examples:

• addslashes(): Escapes special characters in a string. For example, "This is John's book" becomes "This is John\'s book".

• chr(): Converts an ASCII code to its character equivalent. chr(65) returns "A".

• chunk_split(): Splits a string into chunks of a specified length. "Hello world" split into chunks of 3 becomes "Hel-lo -wor-ld".

• convert_cyr_string(): Converts Cyrillic strings between character sets (e.g., KOI8-R to Windows-1251).

• convert_uudecode() and convert_uuencode(): Decode and encode strings using the uuencode algorithm.

• count_chars(): Provides character usage statistics within a string.

• crc32(): Calculates the 32-bit CRC checksum of a string.

• crypt(): Hashes a password using a one-way encryption algorithm.

• echo(): Outputs a string to the browser.

• explode(): Splits a string into an array using a delimiter.

• fprintf(): Writes a formatted string to a file or stream.

• get_html_translation_table(): Retrieves the HTML translation table for special characters.

• hebrev() and hebrevc(): Handle Hebrew text display correctly.

• hex2bin(): Converts a hexadecimal string to a binary string.

• htmlspecialchars_decode() and htmlspecialchars(): Convert HTML entities to and from their character equivalents.

• implode() (alias of join()): Joins array elements into a string.

• lcfirst(): Converts the first character of a string to lowercase.

• levenshtein(): Calculates the Levenshtein distance (edit distance) between two strings.

• localeconv(): Retrieves numeric formatting information based on locale settings.

• ltrim(): Removes whitespace from the left side of a string.

• md5_file() and md5(): Generate MD5 hashes of files and strings respectively.

• metaphone(): Generates a phonetic representation of a string.

• money_format(): Formats a number as currency.

• nl_langinfo(): Retrieves locale-specific information.

• nl2br(): Inserts HTML line breaks before each newline character.

• number_format(): Formats a number with thousands separators and decimal places.

• ord(): Returns the ASCII value of a character.

• parse_str(): Parses a string into variables.

• print(): Outputs a string.

• printf(): Outputs a formatted string.

• quoted_printable_decode() and quoted_printable_encode(): Decode and encode strings using quoted-printable encoding.

• quotemeta(): Adds backslashes before special characters in a string.

• rtrim(): Removes whitespace from the right side of a string.

Conclusion:

This overview provides a starting point for understanding and utilizing PHP's extensive string manipulation capabilities. Refer to the official PHP documentation for a comprehensive list and detailed explanations of each function. The examples provided offer practical demonstrations, enabling developers to quickly integrate these functions into their projects.

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