Out of all eight data types, PHP strings is considered one of the simplest, along with integers, floats, and booleans.
There are built-in PHP string functions for manipulating strings. One of the common uses is to use one of the PHP functions to split the string into smaller parts if the length of a string. You can also use them to have a specific PHP string replaced, modified, or perform other actions.
PHP String Functions: Main Tips
- As the naming suggests, PHP string functions help to perform different actions on string data.
- They are integrated into the core of PHP.
- Among the most basic and widely used are PHP compare strings and PHP trim string functions.
List of Methods
Let's see the complete list of PHP string functions and their descriptions. The table is organized in alphabetical order, so you can always find a particular one quickly when you need to, say, have a certain PHP string replaced:
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
| addcslashes() | Makes a new string by adding backslashes to the front of each specified character |
| addslashes() | Makes a new string by adding backslashes to the front of predefined characters |
| bin2hex() | Makes a new string by converting every character of a string to hexadecimal values |
| chop() | Makes a new string by removing whitespace and other unnecessary characters from the right side of a string |
| chr() | Displays a character defined by a specified ASCII value |
| chunk_split() | Splits the string into smaller parts |
| convert_cyr_string() | Converts a string from one Cyrillic character-set to another |
| convert_uudecode() | Decodes a uuencoded string |
| convert_uuencode() | Makes a new string by converting using the uuencode algorithm |
| count_chars() | Gives information about characters that the string contains |
| crc32() | Calculates a 32-bit CRC for a string |
| crypt() | Makes a one-way hashing of a string |
| echo() | Displays the specified string(s) |
| explode() | Splits a string into array elements |
| fprintf() | Writes the string into specified output stream |
| get_html_translation_table() | Returns the translation table used by htmlspecialchars() and htmlentities() |
| hebrev() | Hebrew text is converted to plain text |
| hebrevc() | Converts Hebrew text to visual text and new lines (\n) into <br> |
| hex2bin() | Makes a new string by converting the specified string of hexadecimal characters to ASCII characters |
| html_entity_decode() | Makes a new string by converting HTML elements to characters |
| htmlentities() | Makes a new string by converting plain text to HTML entities |
| htmlspecialchars_decode() | Makes a new string by converting predefined HTML elements to characters |
| htmlspecialchars() | Makes a new string by converting predefined characters to HTML elements |
| implode() | Joins a PHP array to string |
| join() | Alternative to implode() |
| lcfirst() | Makes a new string by converting the first letter of the specified string to lowercase |
| levenshtein() | Returns the Levenshtein distance between two PHP strings |
| localeconv() | Returns information about locale numeric and monetary formatting |
| ltrim() | Makes a new string by removing whitespace and other unnecessary characters from the left side of a string |
| md5() | Creates the MD5 hash of a string |
| md5_file() | Creates the MD5 hash of a specified file |
| metaphone() | Creates a metaphone key of a string |
| money_format() | Makes a new string by formatting it as a currency string |
| nl_langinfo() | Returns information about a specific location |
| nl2br() | Puts new HTML line breaks in the front of every newline in a string |
| number_format() | Makes a new string by formatting a number. Groups thousands |
| ord() | Takes the first character of a string and returns its ASCII value |
| parse_str() | Puts a query string into specified variables |
| print() | Displays a specified string or multiple strings |
| printf() | Displays a specified formatted string or multiple strings |
| quoted_printable_decode() | Makes a new string by converting quoted-printable string into an 8-bit string |
| quoted_printable_encode() | Makes a new string by converting an 8-bit string into quoted-printable string |
| quotemeta() | Quotes meta characters |
| rtrim() | Makes a new string by removing whitespace and other unnecessary characters from the right side of a string |
| setlocale() | Sets information about the locale |
| sha1() | Creates a SHA-1 hash for a string |
| sha1_file() | Creates a SHA-1 hash for a file |
| similar_text() | Compares two PHP strings |
| soundex() | Creates a soundex key for a string |
| sprintf() | Takes a formatted string and writes it to a variable |
| sscanf() | Takes input from a string depending on the format |
| str_getcsv() | Takes CSV string and puts it into an array |
| str_ireplace() | Makes a new string by replacing characters of a string. The method is not case-sensitive |
| str_pad() | Makes a new string by padding it to a new PHP string length |
| str_repeat() | Makes a new string by repeating a specified string a set number of times |
| str_replace() | Makes PHP string replace part of its content. The method is case-sensitive |
| spstr_rot13() | Performs the ROT13 encoding on a string |
| str_shuffle() | Makes a new string by randomly shuffling all characters |
| str_split() | Splits PHP string to array |
| str_word_count() | Returns how many wors are in a string |
| strcasecmp() | Compares two specified PHP strings. The method is not case-sensitive |
| strchr() | Searches for the first occurrence of a specified string in another string |
| strcmp() | Compares two specified PHP strings. The method is case-sensitive |
| strcoll() | Compares two specified PHP strings. Comparison is based on locale string |
| strcspn() | Returns a count of characters until a specified character is found |
| strip_tags() | Removes PHP and HTML tags from a string |
| stripcslashes() | Makes a new string by removing quotes that were added using the addcslashes() method |
| stripslashes() | Makes a new string by removing quotes that were added using the addslashes() method |
| stripos() | Searches for the first occurrence of a specified string in another string. Returns the position. The method is not case-sensitive |
| stristr() | Searches for the first occurrence of a specified string in another string. The method is not case-sensitive |
| strlen() | Calculates PHP string length and returns it |
| strnatcasecmp() | Compares two specified PHP strings. Uses natural order algorithm. The method is not case-sensitive |
| strnatcmp() | Compares two specified PHP strings. Uses natural order algorithm. The method is case-sensitive |
| strncasecmp() | Compares two specified PHP strings. Compares only specified number of first characters. The method is not case-sensitive |
| strncmp() | Compares two specified PHP strings. Compares only specified number of first characters. The method is case-sensitive |
| strpbrk() | Searches for any of the specified characters in a given string |
| strpos() | Searches for the first occurrence of a specified string in another string. The method is case-sensitive |
| strrchr() | Searches for the last occurrence of a specified string in another string |
| strrev() | Makes a new string by reversing the given string |
| strripos() | Searches for the last position of a specified string in another string. The method is not case-sensitive |
| strrpos() | Searches for the last position of a specified string in another string. The method is case-sensitive |
| strspn() | Counts the number of characters found in a string that are in a specified charlist |
| strstr() | Searches for the first occurrence of a specified string in another string. The method is case-sensitive |
| strtok() | Splits the specified string into smaller strings |
| strtolower() | Changes all the characters of a string to lowercase letters |
| strtoupper() | Changes all the characters of a string to PHP uppercase letters |
| strtr() | Translates certain characters in a string |
| substr() | Cuts a part of a string and returns it |
| substr_compare() | Compares parts of two PHP strings. The start position and case-sensitivity can be specified |
| substr_count() | Returns how many times a substring occurs in a string |
| substr_replace() | Replaces a part of a string with another string |
| trim() | Makes a new string by removing whitespace and other unnecessary characters from both sides of a string |
| ucfirst() | Changes the first character of a string to PHP uppercase |
| ucwords() | Changes the first letter of every word to PHP uppercase |
| vfprintf() | Puts a formatted string to an output stream |
| vprintf() | Displays a formatted string in an output |
| vsprintf() | Puts a formatted string into a variable |
| wordwrap() | Wraps a given string into specified number of characters |
PHP String Functions: Summary
- When performing various actions using string data, PHP string functions come in handy. For example, you can easily turn PHP array to string or PHP string to array.
- PHP string functions are inbuilt and don't require any installation.
- One of the most commonly used methods are applied to PHP compare strings and PHP trim string.