PHP Convert a string of comma separated values into another format without using a loop

Question

In php, if I had a string of comma separated data like this which came from a database:

John,Paul,Ringo,George

how could I convert it to something like this, without using a for loop or any extra processing. Does php have a function that can do this?

$str = 'John','Paul','Ringo','George';

I currently split the string using explode and then reformat it. Anyway to achieve this without doing that?

The formatted string is sent to a SQL where it's used in a MySQL IN() function.

Ok. You mean it's wrong for php. But for MySQL it's right. I wont be echoing it in php, only sending it to the sql statement. — Norman
– Norman, Commented May 25, 2014 at 8:23

danjam · Accepted Answer · 2014-05-25 08:27:13Z

5

If you absolutely don't want to use explode() you could use

$str = 'John,Paul,Ringo,George';
$newStr = "'" . str_replace(",","','", $str) . "'";

answered May 25, 2014 at 8:27

danjam

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1 Comment

user238801 Over a year ago

+1 for fastest solution. It's around 2x faster than implode/explode combination.

Ivan Velichko · Accepted Answer · 2014-05-25 08:25:54Z

2

You can use preg_replace with $1 thing.

UPDATED: See usage example:

echo preg_replace('((\\w+)(,?))', '"$1"$2', 'John,Paul,Ringo,George');

answered May 25, 2014 at 8:25

Ivan Velichko

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Comments

ɹɐqʞɐ zoɹǝɟ · Accepted Answer · 2014-05-25 08:31:22Z

2

you can use explode like below

$db_data = 'John,Paul,Ringo,George';//from your db
$l = explode(',',$db_data);
echo "select * from table where column IN('".implode("','",$l)."')";

output:

select * from table where column IN('John','Paul','Ringo','George')

answered May 25, 2014 at 8:31

ɹɐqʞɐ zoɹǝɟ

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Comments

filype · Accepted Answer · 2014-05-25 08:23:34Z

1

You can use the explode and implode functions in PHP.

$names = explode(',', 'John,Paul,Ringo,George');
echo implode(',', $names);

answered May 25, 2014 at 8:23

filype

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2 Comments

Norman Over a year ago

I already do, but how do I get 'John', 'Paul' etc. I end up with 'John,Paul'

Norman Over a year ago

Your answer needs to be changed to echo implode('\',\'', $names); to get the formatting required.

user238801 · Accepted Answer · 2014-05-25 08:24:41Z

1

I hope I got you right:

$str_1 = 'John,Paul,Ringo,George';
$str_2 = explode(',', $str_1);
$str_3 = implode('\',\'', $str_2);
$str_4 = '\''.$str_3.'\'';

echo $str_4;

Output: 'John','Paul','Ringo','George'

answered May 25, 2014 at 8:24

user238801

Comments

Iqbal Fauzi · Accepted Answer · 2014-05-25 08:25:34Z

1

$l = 'John,Paul,Ringo,George';
$lx = "'" . implode("','", explode(",", $l)) . "'";
echo $lx; // 'John','Paul','Ringo','George'

answered May 25, 2014 at 8:25

Iqbal Fauzi

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