php in_array search too broad, need array entry not just string value

Question

I have the following code that looks through the category array and finds the existence of the string 'Events'. I want only it to trigger if there is NOT an array entry called "Events", something like for example 'News and Events' is fine. I'm sure it's a simple solution but I can't seem to find it. Any thoughts?

$cat_check = get_the_category_list(',');

$cat_check_array = explode(",",$cat_check);

if(!(in_array("Events", $cat_check_array, true))) { 
    //Do Something
}

Example of categories in $cat_check

$cat_check = "News and Events","Category 1","Category 2";
$cat_check = "Events";

The only thing I don't want this bit of code to trigger on is the existence of an array entry "Events", anything else like "News and Events" is perfectly fine.

You probably have it backwards with the !. It states IF Events is NOT in the array. If News and Events is in the array but not just Events then the IF is true. — AbraCadaver
– AbraCadaver, Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 15:31
"I want only it to trigger if the WHOLE array entry is Events" does this mean you want only to do something if all elements contain the word Events? — Ota
– Ota, Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 15:31
Sorry I've updated my question. I had it backwards. Trigger ONLY if array does NOT include entry 'Events' specifically. — Dave Rottino
– Dave Rottino, Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 15:37

Marc B · Accepted Answer · 2014-07-18 15:40:01Z

1

in_array() does straight equality testing. It's not ever been capable of doing partial/substring matches. Bite the bullet and use a loop:

foreach($array as $haystack) {
   if (strpos($haystack, $needle) !== FALSE) {
      ... text is present
   }
}

answered Jul 18, 2014 at 15:40

Marc B

362k44 gold badges433 silver badges508 bronze badges

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

Comments

Community · Accepted Answer · 2023-11-17 19:22:09Z

0

Would array_reduce be what you are looking for?

function in_array_ext($value, $arr) {
   return array_reduce($arr, function ($carry, $item) use ($value) {
       return (strpos($item, $value) !== false) || $carry;
   }, false);
}


if (!in_array_ext("Events", $cat_check_array)) { 
   // Do something, "Events" does not present in the array values
}

edited Nov 17, 2023 at 19:22

CommunityBot

11 silver badge

answered Jul 18, 2014 at 15:44

Yanick Rochon

53.8k30 gold badges146 silver badges231 bronze badges

Comments

Community · Accepted Answer · 2023-11-14 22:25:35Z

0

You can easily perform that with the preg_grep function :

Return array entries that match the pattern

Code example :

$search = "Events"; // whatever you want
$result = preg_grep('~' . preg_quote($search, '~') . '~', $cat_check_array);

Here, we use the preg_quote function on the search variable to prevent uses of the ~ symbol

edited Nov 14, 2023 at 22:25

CommunityBot

11 silver badge

answered Jul 18, 2014 at 15:46

Tmb

48012 silver badges22 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

php in_array search too broad, need array entry not just string value

3 Answers 3

Comments

Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

3 Answers 3

Comments

Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related