How to insert a line break in PHP string ?
In this article, we will discuss how to insert a line break in a PHP string. We will get it by using the nl2br() function. This function is used to give a new line break wherever ‘\n’ is placed.
Syntax:
nl2br("string \n");where the string is the input string.
Example 1: PHP Program to insert a line break in a string.
<?php
// Insert a new line break
echo nl2br("This is first line \n This is second line");
?>
Output
This is first line <br /> This is second line
Example 2:
<?php
// Insert a line break with new line
echo nl2br("This is first line \n This is second "
+ "line \n This is third line \n This is fourth line");
?>
Output
This is first line <br /> This is second line <br /> This is third line <br /> This is fourth line
Using Nowdoc Syntax
Using Nowdoc syntax in PHP, you can insert a line break by defining a multi-line string. This syntax treats everything literally, without parsing variables or special characters.
Example:
<?php
$string = <<<'EOD'
Hello,
World!
EOD;
echo $string . PHP_EOL; // Outputs to the console
?>
Output
Hello, World!
Using PHP_EOL Constant
The PHP_EOL constant in PHP represents the end-of-line character appropriate for the platform PHP is running on (e.g., “\n” on Unix-like systems, “\r\n” on Windows). You can use this constant to insert platform-independent line breaks in a string.
Example:
<?php
function insertLineBreakUsingEOL($string) {
return str_replace("\n", PHP_EOL, $string);
}
$inputString = "Hello,\nWorld!";
$formattedString = insertLineBreakUsingEOL($inputString);
echo nl2br($formattedString);
?>
Output
Hello,<br /> World!
Using str_replace()
The str_replace() function in PHP can replace all occurrences of a substring within a string. You can use this function to replace the newline character \n with <br /> tags for HTML output.
Example:
<?php
function insertLineBreakUsingStrReplace($string) {
return str_replace("\n", "<br />", $string);
}
$inputString = "This is the first line \nThis is the second line";
$formattedString = insertLineBreakUsingStrReplace($inputString);
echo $formattedString;
?>
Output
This is the first line <br />This is the second line
