PHP : Find array pattern in string using regex

Question

I have a string like this it is array pattern :

["foo","bar","bra bra","xxx123"]

How can i get the foo,bar,bra bra,xxx123 Pattern is ["","",""]

that appears to be valid json so you should be able to use json_decode. — Jonathan Kuhn
– Jonathan Kuhn, Commented Feb 24, 2015 at 23:17
@JonathanKuhn - We know nothing about the contents of the strings outside the ASCII printable range, so json_decode() is a risk — Eugen Rieck
– Eugen Rieck, Commented Feb 24, 2015 at 23:21
How exactly is json_decode a risk? It converts a string to an object or array. json_decode isn't vulnerable to attacks. There is no code execution like in unserialize. And any characters outside of the "ascii printable range" will just end up as part of the string. Same as if you used a regular expression or explode to get the string contents. — Jonathan Kuhn
– Jonathan Kuhn, Commented Feb 25, 2015 at 0:04

Casimir et Hippolyte · Accepted Answer · 2015-02-25 00:53:33Z

1

You can do it without regex:

$result = explode('","', trim($str, '[]"'));

or with regex:

if (preg_match_all('~"([^"]*)"~', $str, $m))
    $result = $m[1];

or a regex to handle escaped quotes:

if (preg_match_all('~"([^"\\\]*(?s:\\\.[^"\\\]*)*)"~', $str, $m))
    $result = $m[1];

edited Feb 25, 2015 at 0:53

answered Feb 24, 2015 at 23:50

Casimir et Hippolyte

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Shawn · Accepted Answer · 2015-02-24 23:19:19Z

1

Since php 5.4 that is a shorthanded way of doing an array.

See: http://docs.php.net/manual/en/language.types.array.php

Specific quote:

As of PHP 5.4 you can also use the short array syntax, which replaces array() with [].

Therefore the basic way is like any other array:

$arr = ["foo","bar"];

foreach($arr AS $arg){
    echo $arg; //you can add your logic here for comma seperating or beautifying
}

answered Feb 24, 2015 at 23:19

Shawn

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2 Comments

Will Over a year ago

Fairly certain foreach won't iterate over a string, which is what the OP is working with...

Shawn Over a year ago

Ok OP said array pattern which is misleading.

Eugen Rieck · Accepted Answer · 2015-02-24 23:20:39Z

0

I suspect, that a regex might be the wrong tool - try explode!

$string='["foo","bar","bra bra","xxx123"]';

//Remove start/end
if (substr($string,0,2)!='["') die('Malformed start!');
if (substr($string,-2)!='"]') die('Malformed end!');
$string=substr($string, 2, -2);
//Now explode
$array=explode('","', $string);

print_r($array);

answered Feb 24, 2015 at 23:20

Eugen Rieck

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