Parse a pipe-delimited string into 2, 3, 4 or 5 variables (depending on the input string)

Question

I have a line like this in my code:

list($user_id, $name, $limit, $remaining, $reset) = explode('|', $user);

The last 3 parameters may or may not be there. Is there a function similar to list that will automatically ignore those last parameters if the array is smaller than expected?

If any of the trailing optional substrings are missing in the input string, the corresponding variables should be assigned a null value.

"ignore" in the sense of "not assign anything" or in the sense of "assign null"? — Fabian Schmengler
– Fabian Schmengler, Commented Mar 12, 2013 at 15:35
You shouldn't be wanting this. When you define a variable by name in a scope, that variable should always be created. What should happen with the empty variables? Should they not be created? That'll mess up the following code... — deceze
– deceze ♦, Commented Mar 12, 2013 at 15:35
I just want them to be null. BTW, the PHP community is much faster at answering these questions versus the Java people!! — MikeG
– MikeG, Commented Mar 12, 2013 at 15:38

ClemC · Accepted Answer · 2018-05-28 17:12:35Z

55

list($user_id, $name, $limit, $remaining, $reset)
    = array_pad(explode('|', $user), 5, null);

edited May 28, 2018 at 17:12

ClemC

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answered Mar 12, 2013 at 15:36

deceze♦

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Comments

Mark Baker · Accepted Answer · 2013-03-12 15:42:00Z

19

If you're concerned that SDC's solution feels "hacky"; then you can set some default values and use:

$user = '3|username';

$defaults = array(NULL, NULL, 10, 5, FALSE);
list($user_id, $name, $limit, $remaining, $reset) = explode('|', $user) + $defaults;

var_dump($user_id, $name, $limit, $remaining, $reset);

answered Mar 12, 2013 at 15:42

Mark Baker

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Comments

Community · Accepted Answer · 2023-11-17 20:24:57Z

5

Just add some spare pipes to the end of the string:

list($user_id, $name, $limit, $remaining, $reset) = explode('|', $user.'||||');

problem solved.

Note: If you're loading arbitrary pipe-delimited data, you might want to use str_getcsv() function rather than explode().

edited Nov 17, 2023 at 20:24

CommunityBot

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answered Mar 12, 2013 at 15:33

SDC

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Comments

mickmackusa · Accepted Answer · 2023-04-23 12:42:20Z

0

sscanf() can do the same that list() + explode() (and array_pad()) can do except it is a single function call AND it can allow for type-specific casting of the substrings.

Code: (Demo with unit tests)

sscanf($test, '%d|%[^|]|%d|%d|%d', $user_id, $name, $limit, $remaining, $reset);

I find this to be a superior approach in every way versus the existing proposed solutions.

answered Apr 23, 2023 at 12:42

mickmackusa♦

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