Creating a html link from a string

Question

I'm trying to convert something like this:

@Username

into:

<a href="Username">Username</a>

Can't find a RegEx for it anywhere though. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Beware of input like <img alt="@username"> -- you don't want to insert a <a> tag inside another tag's attribute value. As a result, your best bet is actually to construct a proper dom tree. — Frank Farmer
– Frank Farmer, Commented Dec 6, 2012 at 22:31
Can't find a RegEx for it anywhere Try first, you're not going to find all regex on the internet, it's worth learning. You can start here regular-expressions.info. — elclanrs
– elclanrs, Commented Dec 6, 2012 at 22:35

user142162 · Accepted Answer · 2012-12-06 22:27:58Z

5

You can use the preg_replace function for this:

$str = preg_replace('/@(\w+)/', '<a href="$1">$1</a>', $str);

I would also recommend you read the documentation on regular expressions.

answered Dec 6, 2012 at 22:27

user142162

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Comments

Dillen Meijboom · Accepted Answer · 2012-12-06 22:29:44Z

0

<?php
$str = "Sample text @Username sample text.";
$new_str = preg_replace( '\@([a-zA-Z0-9]*)', '<a href="$1">$1</a>', $str );

echo $new_str;
?>

I think that's gonna work.

answered Dec 6, 2012 at 22:29

Dillen Meijboom

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