Efficient way to split a string into an array - PHP

Question

What is the best way to split the below $string to get the array $cars in PHP?

$string = '{xa}{y}{z12}{123}{2}{aabb}';

$cars = array("{xa}","{y}","{z12}", "{123}", "{2}", "{aabb}");

I need each array element with brackets eg : {xa}

Maybe something like preg_match_all("/\{.\}/", $string, $x);. — Ben
– Ben, Commented Jul 28, 2014 at 15:05
preg_split()? since your delimiters aren't the same throughout, you can't really use explode(). — Marc B
– Marc B, Commented Jul 28, 2014 at 15:10

Alex W · Accepted Answer · 2014-07-28 15:12:43Z

5

$string = str_replace("}{","},{",$string);
$x = explode(',',$string);

answered Jul 28, 2014 at 15:06

Alex W

38.5k13 gold badges114 silver badges115 bronze badges

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

4 Comments

I need each array element with brackets eg : {xa}

@MDeSilva This will preserve brackets.

Isn't that good to use preg_split() to do the job ? which one is the best ?

@MDeSilva Regex is usually slower than doing linear operations like string replacement.