PHP Strings

PHP Strings
A string is a sequence of characters, like "Hello world!".
PHP String Functions

In this chapter we will look at some commonly used functions to manipulate strings.
strlen() - Return the Length of a String

The PHP strlen() function returns the length of a string.
Example
Return the length of the string "Hello world!":
<?php
echo strlen("Hello world!"); // outputs 12
?>
str_word_count() - Count Words in a String

The PHP str_word_count() function counts the number of words in a string.
Example
Count the number of word in the string "Hello world!":
<?php
echo str_word_count("Hello world!"); // outputs 2
?>
strrev() - Reverse a String

The PHP strrev() function reverses a string.
Example
Reverse the string "Hello world!":
<?php
echo strrev("Hello world!"); // outputs !dlrow olleH
?>
strpos() - Search For a Text Within a String

The PHP strpos() function searches for a specific text within a string. If a match is
found, the function returns the character position of the first match. If no match is
found, it will return FALSE.
Example
Search for the text "world" in the string "Hello world!":
<?php
echo strpos("Hello world!", "world"); // outputs 6
?>
Tip: The first character position in a string is 0 (not 1).
str_replace() - Replace Text Within a String

The PHP str_replac
Complete PHP String Reference

For a complete reference of all string functions, go to our complete PHP String
Reference.
The PHP string reference contains description and example of use, for each function!
PHP Exercises
PHP Numbers
In this chapter we will look in depth into Integers, Floats, and Number Strings.
PHP Numbers
One thing to notice about PHP is that it provides automatic data type conversion.
So, if you assign an integer value to a variable, the type of that variable will
automatically be an integer. Then, if you assign a string to the same variable, the type
will change to a string.
This automatic conversion can sometimes break your code.
PHP Integers
An integer is a number without any decimal part.
2, 256, -256, 10358, -179567 are all integers. While 7.56, 10.0, 150.67 are floats.
So, an integer data type is a non-decimal number between -2147483648 and

2147483647. A value greater (or lower) than this, will be stored as float, because it
exceeds the limit of an integer.
Another important thing to know is that even if 4 * 2.5 is 10, the result is stored as float,
because one of the operands is a float (2.5).
Here are some rules for integers:
 An integer must have at least one digit

 An integer must not have a decimal point
 An integer can be either positive or negative
 Integers can be specified in three formats: decimal (10-based), hexadecimal (16-based
- prefixed with 0x) or octal (8-based - prefixed with 0)
PHP has the following functions to check if the type of a variable is integer:
 is_int()
 is_integer() - alias of is_int()
 is_long() - alias of is_int()
Example
Check if the type of a variable is integer:
<?php
$x = 5985;
var_dump(is_int($x));
$x = 59.85;
var_dump(is_int($x));
?>
PHP Floats
A float is a number with a decimal point or a number in exponential form.
2.0, 256.4, 10.358, 7.64E+5, 5.56E-5 are all floats.
The float data type can commonly store a value up to 1.7976931348623E+308

(platform dependent), and have a maximum precision of 14 digits.
PHP has the following functions to check if the type of a variable is float:
 is_float()
 is_double() - alias of is_float()
Example
Check if the type of a variable is float:
<?php
$x = 10.365;
var_dump(is_float($x));
?>
PHP Infinity
A numeric value that is larger than PHP_FLOAT_MAX is considered infinite.
PHP has the following functions to check if a numeric value is finite or infinite:
 is_finite()
 is_infinite()
However, the PHP var_dump() function returns the data type and value:
Example
Check if a numeric value is finite or infinite:
<?php
$x = 1.9e411;
var_dump($x);
?>
PHP NaN
NaN stands for Not a Number.
NaN is used for impossible mathematical operations.
PHP has the following functions to check if a value is not a number:
 is_nan()
However, the PHP var_dump() function returns the data type and value:
Example
Invalid calculation will return a NaN value:
<?php
$x = acos(8);
var_dump($x);
?>
PHP Numerical Strings

The PHP is_numeric() function can be used to find whether a variable is numeric. The
function returns true if the variable is a number or a numeric string, false otherwise.
Example
Check if the variable is numeric:
<?php
$x = 5985;
var_dump(is_numeric($x));
$x = "5985";
$x = "59.85" + 100;
$x = "Hello";
?>
Note: From PHP 7.0: The is_numeric() function will return FALSE for numeric strings
in hexadecimal form (e.g. 0xf4c3b00c), as they are no longer considered as numeric
strings.
PHP Casting Strings and Floats to Integers

Sometimes you need to cast a numerical value into another data type.
The (int), (integer), or intval() function are often used to convert a value to an integer.
Example
Cast float and string to integer:
<?php
// Cast float to int
$x = 23465.768;
$int_cast = (int)$x;
echo $int_cast;
echo "<br>";
// Cast string to int

$x = "23465.768";
$int_cast = (int)$x;
echo $int_cast;
?>

PHP Strings

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PHP Strings

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PHP Strings

A string is a sequence of characters, like "Hello world!".

PHP String Functions

strlen() - Return the Length of a String

Return the length of the string "Hello world!":

str_word_count() - Count Words in a String

Count the number of word in the string "Hello world!":

strrev() - Reverse a String

strpos() - Search For a Text Within a String

Search for the text "world" in the string "Hello world!":

Tip: The first character position in a string is 0 (not 1).

str_replace() - Replace Text Within a String

Complete PHP String Reference

This automatic conversion can sometimes break your code.

So, an integer data type is a non-decimal number between -2147483648 and

Here are some rules for integers:

 An integer must have at least one digit

Check if the type of a variable is integer:

2.0, 256.4, 10.358, 7.64E+5, 5.56E-5 are all floats.

The float data type can commonly store a value up to 1.7976931348623E+308

Check if the type of a variable is float:

Check if a numeric value is finite or infinite:

NaN is used for impossible mathematical operations.

PHP has the following functions to check if a value is not a number:

Invalid calculation will return a NaN value:

PHP Numerical Strings

Check if the variable is numeric:

PHP Casting Strings and Floats to Integers

Cast float and string to integer:

// Cast string to int

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