Get array with regex from string

Question

I got an php array like this:

array(3) {
   [0]=> string(12) "server[edit]" 
   [1]=> string(14) "server[create]" 
   [2]=> string(12) "user[delete]" 
}

I want to convert this to different arrays - for example an array named server with "edit" and "create" in it - and another array "user" with "delete".

Whats the right pattern for that ?

Thanks for any help!

was my first idea, so it's possible to filter "server" and the action "edit" or "create" (but tbh i don't know how to) - is there another solution ? — Aaroniker
– Aaroniker, Commented Nov 25, 2014 at 0:31
meta.stackexchange.com/questions/66377/what-is-the-xy-problem — Mihai
– Mihai, Commented Nov 25, 2014 at 0:32
Looks like ^(\w+)\[(\w+)\]$ would be a good fit. But splitting this to different top-level arrays seems like a bad idea to me. — Lucas Trzesniewski
– Lucas Trzesniewski, Commented Nov 25, 2014 at 0:36

Gareth Parker · Accepted Answer · 2014-11-25 00:52:52Z

2

Rather than trying a regex against the whole array, try matching against each individual value. Take a look at this as an example

$array = array(
        'server[edit]',
        'server[create]',
        'user[delete]',
        'dsadsa'
);

$newArray = array();

foreach($array as $value)
{
        preg_match("~^(\w+)\[(\w+)\]$~", $value, $matches);
        if(count($matches))
        {       
                $key = $matches[1];
                if(!isset($newArray[$key]))
                        $newArray[$key] = array();

                $newArray[$key][] = $matches[2];
        }
}

var_dump($newArray);

edited Nov 25, 2014 at 0:52

answered Nov 25, 2014 at 0:38

Gareth Parker

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5 Comments

Lucas Trzesniewski Over a year ago

Your ? only applies to \] and the backslash is misplaced. I think you meant to write ~^(\w+)(?:\[(\w+)\])?$~

Gareth Parker Over a year ago

@LucasTrzesniewski Yeah, you're right about the ? and the \. I didn't want the ?: though, because I want the second capture to be value I insert into the arrays. I think that's what OP was aiming for

Lucas Trzesniewski Over a year ago

That's why I suggested (?:...) instead of (...). But now I see you removed the ? altogether.

Gareth Parker Over a year ago

@LucasTrzesniewski Sorry, I might be a bit rusty on my regex, but doesn't ?: meant that the capture bracket won't be returned in $matches, so $matches[2] will return null or not be defined?

Lucas Trzesniewski Over a year ago

@Gareth no, it just doesn't count as a capture group, $matches[2] will still return the same thing. There would be no point in always returning null for a group.

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