PHP: How should I convert this inconsistent string into arrays?

Question

I have this string: $delims = ',^.;:\t' (which is used in a preg_replace() call).
I need two arrays .. one with those delimiters as the index ($delimCount), and another with those delimiters as the values ($delimiters).

The former will get values assigned from within a loop on the latter .. as such:

foreach ($delimiters as $delim) { 
    if( strpos($char, $delim) !== false) { // if the char is the delim ...
        $delimCount[$delim]++; // ... increment
    }
}

The way I have it now is messy, and I'd like to simply break that string into the two arrays ... but I'm getting tripped up on the \t delimiter (because it's the only one with two characters).
How can/should I handle that?

Use a double-quoted string instead. \t is one character then. — Linus Kleen
– Linus Kleen, Commented Jul 11, 2012 at 13:46
And, by the way, if you need to split some string into smaller ones with different tokens, you might be interested in strtok function. — raina77ow
– raina77ow, Commented Jul 11, 2012 at 13:47
Yes - PHP doesn't parse special characters in strings wrapped in single quotes, only double quotes — Mitya
– Mitya, Commented Jul 11, 2012 at 13:48
Thanks, but if I dbl-qt the string, then my index in the $delimiters array becomes an interpreted tab rather than '\t' which conflicts with a later need/usage ... maybe it's time for me to look at whether that later usage REALLY needs it as a string or not ... maybe I can just change that code and leave this problem with the simple/elegant solution proposed. Thanks-a-bunch. Let me know if you have any other thoughts. — mOrloff
– mOrloff, Commented Jul 11, 2012 at 13:57

Kermit · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-11 14:06:36Z

1

How I would handle your \t delimiter

$delims = ',^.;:\t';

$i = 0;

while($i < strlen($delims)) {
    if($delims[$i] == chr(92)) {
        $delimiters[] = $delims[$i] . $delims[$i+1];
        $i = $i + 2;
    }
    else {
        $delimiters[] = $delims[$i];
        $i++;
    }
}

Output of $delimiters

Array
(
    [0] => ,
    [1] => ^
    [2] => .
    [3] => ;
    [4] => :
    [5] => \t
)

As far as an array with the delimiters as an index

foreach($delimiters as $key=>$val) {
    $delimCount[$val] = $val;
}

Output of $delimCount

Array
(
    [,] => ,
    [^] => ^
    [.] => .
    [;] => ;
    [:] => :
    [\t] => \t
)

Hope this helps.

edited Jul 11, 2012 at 14:06

answered Jul 11, 2012 at 14:01

Kermit

34.1k13 gold badges89 silver badges121 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

mOrloff Over a year ago

Thank you .. while ALL of the answers were extremely helpful, your while loop is the one which specifically solved the question as I posted it .. so I ticked this one as the answer. Thanks again to everyone.

Berry Langerak · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-11 13:56:06Z

0

I need two arrays .. one with those delimiters as the index ($delimCount), and another with those delimiters as the values ($delimiters).

Well, where does $delimiters come from? Did you write it yourself? If so, I'd argue you'd be better off making $delimiters an array in any case, and using implode when you use it in preg_replace.

answered Jul 11, 2012 at 13:56

Berry Langerak

18.9k5 gold badges49 silver badges62 bronze badges

1 Comment

mOrloff Over a year ago

Thanks ... believe it or not, this was extremely helpful :)

Stano · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-11 14:17:16Z

0

If you have a problem with tabulator, then you can use ordinal number of character as the key inplace of character itself: $delim = "\t"; $delimCount[ ord($delim) ]++;

Handy complementary functions: ord() and chr().

answered Jul 11, 2012 at 14:17

Stano

8,9796 gold badges33 silver badges46 bronze badges

1 Comment

mOrloff Over a year ago

Great suggestion ... ord() and chr() were new to me .. thanks

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

PHP: How should I convert this inconsistent string into arrays?

3 Answers 3

1 Comment

1 Comment

1 Comment

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

3 Answers 3

1 Comment

1 Comment

1 Comment

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related