read file matching lines using array using php

Question

I want to be able to read through a plain text file and match a number of lines without the need to iterate over the text file multiple times. I am passing in an array with a list of strings I would like to match, which ideally, I would like to put into an array.

I can achieve the desired result using the code below, but it necessitates the reading of the text file multiple times.

function readFile($line){
  $contents = file("test.txt");

  if(preg_match("/$line*/i", $val)){
    return($val);
  }
}

Ideally, I would like to do the following:

// pass an array to the funciton which will parse the file once and match on the elements defined.
$v = readFile(array("test_1", "test_2", "test_2", "test_3"));

// return an array with the matched elements from the search.
print_r($v);

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks all!

you already know the solution: iterate the file once and check each line for the search term. So what's the problem? — Gordon
– Gordon, Commented Oct 2, 2012 at 7:49

user1270150 · Accepted Answer · 2012-10-03 11:01:32Z

1

$val = array();
foreach ($contents as $file) {
   foreach ($line as $l) {
      if (stristr($file, $l)) {
         $val[] = $file;
         break; // Don't need to check the other $line values
      }
   }
}

edited Oct 3, 2012 at 11:01

user1270150

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answered Oct 2, 2012 at 7:54

Barmar

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1 Comment

user1270150 Over a year ago

Solution worked - thanks for all the help - much appreciataed!

Explosion Pills · Accepted Answer · 2012-10-02 07:46:16Z

0

$val = array();
foreach ($contents as $file) {
   foreach ($line as $l) {
      if (stristr($file, $l) {
         $val[] = $file;
      }
   }
}

Even if you want to stick with preg_match, the "*" is unnecessary.

answered Oct 2, 2012 at 7:46

Explosion Pills

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5 Comments

Barmar Over a year ago

You probably want to add a break; statement, so that if $file matches multiple strings it's only added to $val once.

Explosion Pills Over a year ago

@Barmar I would think he would want every occurrence added, but I'm not sure.

Chris Over a year ago

Would probably be better to have it as Explosion Pills has it, so that he can work with the array rather than reloading the file over and over

Barmar Over a year ago

I meant break out of the inner loop, not the outer loop. Otherwise you can add the same line multiple times.

Explosion Pills Over a year ago

@Barmar you are adding a line from file every time l matches. As far as we know, l could just be "a", so it would match many lines and a break would be counterintuitive. However, you could use array_unique on the file if you only want unique occurrences.

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