A Basic Guide to Common PHP Strings

Modern PHP applications combine both underlying logic with design and user communication, and strings make blending information for user consumption much easier. Nearly every dynamic piece of content on a PHP-based site is based upon strings, and this makes updating, managing and creating dynamic sites quite a bit easier. Strings are simply defined as alphanumeric sequences which are used to store a particular value.

Unlike strings in physics, strings in programming are quite simple although they are useful and their construction can be adapted to nearly any situation. A string, in a programming context, makes it possible to work with data combined with rich media, text and other on-page properties when working with website applications.  In PHP sites strings can be used to define dynamic variables that relate to values, relationships and classes of objects.  If you have a database driven (most likely mySQL although any SQL database will work), then mastering strings is essential to helping you manage variables and dynamic data.

Creating and Using Common Strings in PHP

Adding strings can streamline your code, although you first have to define it through a function. To most basic task with a string is to define a value which is echoed on a page. This allows you to take dynamic content and use it to replace across an entire site:

<?php
$dynamic = "I love dynamic content.";
echo $dynamic;
?>

I love dynamic content.

Often times, strings require you to use quotes so possessives, symbols and other variables don’t get confused as code:

• \n for the newline character
• \r for the carriage-return character
• \t for the tab character
• \$ for the dollar sign itself ($)
• \” for a single double-quote (“)
• \\ for a single backslash (\)

Common Operations with Strings

In addition to using strings to provide dynamic information, you can also utilize PHP functions to combine, manipulate and updated variables.  For example, suppose we have a string containing a piece of user information and want to verify his or her identity. We don’t want to display the entire text but we can display the last four digits using sub-strings:

<?php
//  4-digit verification
echo substr('987654321', 5, 4);
?>

4321

Another useful technique is to combine or separate string values. This is especially useful when you want to process database queries to retrieve or combine data points, and can also make it easier to organize information displayed on a page. By organizing the defining the data in arrays, you can store it in a column, display it in a table or distribute it in a more efficient manner. For example, suppose we have a list of friends separated by commas; we can then explode this data to form an array:

<?php
// list of friends
$friends = ‘Sam,Bob,Sally’;
$friendlist = explode(',', $friends);
?>

Array
(
 [0] => Sam
 [1] => Bob
 [2] => Sally
)

With an array of data you can organize, store or manipulate the entry accordingly. Therefore, string operations are crucial for managing database-drive PHP sites.

External Links

• PHP Strings Tutorial – HireMasonWolf.com