Test if String Given is A Version Number

Question

Is there a way to test if a given string is a versioning number or not? I have some user input and I need to verify that the string being given to me can be used as a versioning number. I've seen that PHP has a version_compare() function but that looks like compareing two versions to one another.

I am assuming the given string should be a "PHP-Standardized" version.

Use a regexp like /^([0-9]+)\.([0-9]+)\.([0-9]+)(?:-([0-9A-Za-z-]+(?:\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*))?(?:\+[0-9A-Za-z-]+)?$/? — Mark Baker
– Mark Baker, Commented Mar 6, 2015 at 16:33
The regex above isn't 100% accurate. It will get you pretty close though. Mostly because there are only certain strings that are valid at the end of a version: dev, alpha, a, beta, b, RC, rc, pl, p. All other words and characters show up as invalid. — General Redneck
– General Redneck, Commented Nov 25, 2016 at 13:16

TS' · Accepted Answer · 2018-06-24 06:40:52Z

11

I'm not sure if this is the best way but using the version_compare() I just ensured that it was at least 0.0.1 by filtering out 'non-version' strings:

version_compare( $given_version, '0.0.1', '>=' )

For example:

if( version_compare( $_POST['_plugin_vers'], '0.0.1', '>=' ) >= 0 ) {
    echo 'Valid Version';
} else {
    echo 'Invalid Version';
}

edited Jun 24, 2018 at 6:40

TS'

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answered Mar 6, 2015 at 16:34

Howdy_McGee

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3 Comments

Olle Härstedt Over a year ago

Will this work with alpha and beta words in the string, too?

General Redneck Over a year ago

@OlleHärstedt, yep. From php.net: The function first replaces _, - and + with a dot . in the version strings and also inserts dots . before and after any non number so that for example '4.3.2RC1' becomes '4.3.2.RC.1'. Then it compares the parts starting from left to right. If a part contains special version strings these are handled in the following order: any string not found in this list < dev < alpha = a < beta = b < RC = rc < # < pl = p. This way not only versions with different levels like '4.1' and '4.1.2' can be compared but also any PHP specific version containing development state.

Lucas Bustamante Over a year ago

This doesn't seem to validate anything at all, all strings passes. 3v4l.org/tBAIo#v8.0.10

ymakux · Accepted Answer · 2016-07-16 23:29:10Z

3

if(preg_match('/^(\d+\.)?(\d+\.)?(\*|\d+)$/', $string)){
  echo 'Valid';
} else {
  echo 'Invalid';
}

answered Jul 16, 2016 at 23:29

ymakux

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1 Comment

Lucas Bustamante Over a year ago

Just a sidenote that this works for X.X.X, but doesn't support versions with strings like 1.0.0-dev 3v4l.org/qeOlC#v8.0.10

Lucas Bustamante · Accepted Answer · 2021-08-30 16:57:47Z

$versions = [
    '1',
    '1.0',
    '1.001',
    '1.0.1',
    '1.00.1',
    '1.0.01',
    '10.0.1',
    '10.01.10',
    '1.0.0-beta',
    '1.0.0-rc1',
    '5.5.9-1ubuntu4.17',
    '\'DROP DATABASE',
    '1.2.3<script>xss</script>'
];

foreach ($versions as $version) {
    if (preg_match('#^(\d+\.)?(\d+\.)?(\d+)(-[a-z0-9]+)?$#i', $version, $matches) !== 0) {
        var_dump($matches[0]);
    } else {
        echo 'Could not find version number in string: ' . $version;
    }
    echo PHP_EOL;
}

Result:

string(1) "1"
string(3) "1.0"
string(5) "1.001"
string(5) "1.0.1"
string(6) "1.00.1"
string(6) "1.0.01"
string(6) "10.0.1"
string(8) "10.01.10"
string(10) "1.0.0-beta"
string(9) "1.0.0-rc1"
Could not find version number in string: 5.5.9-1ubuntu4.17
Could not find version number in string: 'DROP DATABASE
Could not find version number in string: 1.2.3<script>xss</script>

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