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How to check a string starts/ends with a specific string in PHP ?
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How to check if a String contains a Specific Character in PHP ?

Last Updated : 06 Jun, 2024
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In PHP, determining whether a string contains a specific character is a common task. Whether you're validating user input, parsing data, or performing text processing, PHP provides several methods to check for the presence of a particular character within a string efficiently.

Here are some common approaches:

Table of Content

  • Using strpos( ) function
  • Using strstr( ) function
  • Using preg_match() function

Using strpos( ) function

The strpos() function in PHP finds the position of a specific character or substring within a string. If the character or substring is found, it returns the position; otherwise, it returns `false`. This helps check for presence.

Example: Implementation to check if a string contains a specific character using the strpos( ) function

PHP 
<?php $string = "Hello, world!"; $char = "o";  // Using strpos() function if (strpos($string, $char) !== false) {     echo "The string contains the character '$char'."; } else {     echo "The string does not contain the character '$char'."; }  ?>

Output
The string contains the character 'o'.

Using strstr( ) function

The strstr() function in PHP checks if a specific substring exists within a string. It returns the portion of the string from the first occurrence of the substring to the end. If the substring is not found, it returns `false`, enabling substring validation.

Example: Implementation to check if a string contains a specific character using strstr( ) function.

PHP 
<?php $string = "Hello, world!"; $char = "o";  // Using strstr() function if (strstr($string, $char) !== false) {     echo "The string contains the character '$char'."; } else {     echo "The string does not contain the character '$char'."; } ?>

Output
The string contains the character 'o'.

Using preg_match() function

The preg_match() function is used to perform a regular expression match. It allows for more complex pattern matching, including checking for the presence of specific characters using regular expressions.

Example: In this example we checks if a specific character exists in a given string using the preg_match() function. It outputs a message indicating whether the character is present or not.

PHP 
<?php // Nikunj Sonigara $string = "Hello, world!"; $char = "o";   // Using preg_match() function if (preg_match('/' . preg_quote($char, '/') . '/', $string)) {     echo "The string contains the character '$char'."; } else {     echo "The string does not contain the character '$char'."; } ?>

Output
The string contains the character 'o'.

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How to check a string starts/ends with a specific string in PHP ?

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Article Tags :
  • Web Technologies
  • PHP
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  • PHP-QnA

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