php explode

Summary: in this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use the PHP explode() function to split a string by a separator into an array of strings.

Introduction to the PHP explode() function #

The PHP explode() function returns an array of strings by splitting a string by a separator. The following shows the syntax of the explode() function:

explode ( string $separator , string $string , int $limit = PHP_INT_MAX ) : arrayCode language: PHP (php)

The explode() function has the following parameters:

• $separator is the delimiter that the explode() function uses to split the $string.
• $string is the input string
• $limit specifies how the function will return the result array.

If the $limit is positive, the explode() function returns an array with $limit elements where the last element containing the rest of the string.

If the $limit is zero, explode() function interprets it as one. So the function returns an array with the original string.

If the $limit is negative, the explode() function splits the $string using the $separator. Also, it removes the last $limit elements from the result array.

Prior to PHP 8.0.0, the explode() function returns false if the $separator is an empty string. Starting from PHP 8.0.0, the explode() function throws a ValueError instead.

PHP explode() function examples #

Let’s take some examples of using the explode() function.

1) Simple the PHP explode() function example #

The following example uses the explode() function to split a string by a comma (,):

<?php

$str = 'first_name,last_name,email,phone';
$headers = explode(',', $str);

print_r($headers);Code language: PHP (php)

Try it

Output:

array(4) 
{ 
    [0]=> string(10) "first_name" 
    [1]=> string(9) "last_name" 
    [2]=> string(5) "email" 
    [3]=> string(5) "phone" 
}Code language: PHP (php)