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PHP explode() Function

< PHP String Reference

Example

Break a string into an array:

<?php
$str = "Hello world. It's a beautiful day.";
print_r (explode(" ",$str));
?>
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Definition and Usage

The explode() function breaks a string into an array.

Note: The "separator" parameter cannot be an empty string.

Note: This function is binary-safe.

Syntax

explode(separator,string,limit)

Parameter Description
separator Required. Specifies where to break the string
string Required. The string to split
limit Optional. Specifies the number of array elements to return.

Possible values:

  • Greater than 0 - Returns an array with a maximum of limit element(s)
  • Less than 0 - Returns an array except for the last -limit elements()
  • 0 - Returns an array with one element

Technical Details

Return Value: Returns an array of strings
PHP Version: 4+
Changelog: The limit parameter was added in PHP 4.0.1, and support for negative limits were added in PHP 5.1.0

More Examples

Example 1

Using the limit parameter to return a number of array elements:

<?php
$str = 'one,two,three,four';

// zero limit
print_r(explode(',',$str,0));

// positive limit
print_r(explode(',',$str,2));

// negative limit
print_r(explode(',',$str,-1));
?>
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< PHP String Reference