filter values from an array similar to SQL LIKE '%search%' using PHP

Question

I created an autocomplete field using JQueryUI and I've stored my data in a flat doc. I can read the values into an array... but I would like to be able to return the alphabetic matches based on the user input. So if the array contains [orange,blue,green,red,pink,brown,black] and the user types bl then I only return [blue,black].

Looking at array_diff() but without complete matches on the entire value of the array, I'm not sure how to use it... maybe a regular expression thrown in? My two weakest skills array manipulation and regex Thanks for the help!

did you look at the autocomplete 'xml data parsed once' example (http://jqueryui.com/demos/autocomplete/#xml)? You may find it easier and more efficient to change your data storage format. — dnagirl, Apr 27 '11 at 18:52

Alix Axel · Accepted Answer · 2013-06-05T17:02:20.040

67

You don't need to use array_filter and a custom / lambda function, preg_grep does the trick:

$input = preg_quote('bl', '~'); // don't forget to quote input string!
$data = array('orange', 'blue', 'green', 'red', 'pink', 'brown', 'black');

$result = preg_grep('~' . $input . '~', $data);

edited Jun 05 '13 at 17:02

answered Apr 27 '11 at 19:08

Alix Axel

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Your answer led me to `preg_grep()`. Changed `preg_filter()` to that and removed `null` and worked like a charm; thanks! – Ecropolis Apr 27 '11 at 21:41
1

@Ecropolis: I think the correct syntax in this case is `preg_filter('~' . $input . '~', '$0', $data);`. – Alix Axel Apr 27 '11 at 21:54
This no longer works, as preg_filter has been deprecated and removed from PHP. – Allen Gingrich Jun 05 '13 at 16:56
@AllenGingrich: You sure? I don't see that on the man page. Anyway, `preg_grep` also works, in fact I'm gonna update my answer now as it's more adequate. – Alix Axel Jun 05 '13 at 17:01
@Ecropolis: Yeah, I `preg_grep` was what I meant but I made some kind of confusion with `preg_filter`... Sorry about that. – Alix Axel Jun 05 '13 at 17:03
Hello, I'm using your preg_grep, but it's seem that is case sensitive, How can i use for non-case sensitive? – Emilio Gort Sep 12 '13 at 16:35
3

@EmilioGort: Sure, just add an `i` modifier after the last `~` delimiter. – Alix Axel Sep 12 '13 at 16:45
How to filter those begin with the given term? I Mean: SQL LIKE 'term%' instead of '%term%' – Hossain Alhaidari Jan 13 '14 at 07:10
4

@MichaelRopy: `$result = preg_grep('~^' . $input . '~', $data);` – Alix Axel Jan 13 '14 at 14:59
2

Great answer. Every time this answer comes up in google when I search for array filters. – Nandakumar Sep 10 '15 at 02:50
How can I get the array key for this? – smack-a-bro Dec 14 '15 at 20:09
@Alix Axel Will it work with multidimensional array ? – Denis Bhojvani Mar 12 '19 at 04:36
@Alix Axel Will it work with multidimensional array ? Can I search on particular key of array. – Denis Bhojvani Mar 12 '19 at 04:36
This only works with arrays where the keys is are integers – murtho May 14 '19 at 10:04
For a case insensitive search i ended up using `$result = preg_grep('/(.*)' . $input . '(.*)/i', $data);` – skalta Aug 12 '22 at 14:27

score 16 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 27 '11 at 18:52

array_filter(), with a callback filtering function based on stripos(), should do the trick.

For example, if the input is stored in $input, and your array in $data :

$input = 'bl';
$data = array('orange', 'blue', 'green', 'red', 'pink', 'brown', 'black');

Filtering to keep only the words that contain $input (no matter where in the string) could be done this way :

$result = array_filter($data, function ($item) use ($input) {
    if (stripos($item, $input) !== false) {
        return true;
    }
    return false;
});

var_dump($result);

And, here, you'd get :

array
  1 => string 'blue' (length=4)
  6 => string 'black' (length=5)

Changing the filtering callback, you can :

Test if the string begins with the input -- testing if the value returned by stripos() is === 0
Use a case-sensitive matching function, like strpos()

this is the right solution if you want to maintain key values and be able to use non integer keys — murtho, May 14 '19 at 12:22

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 27 '11 at 20:16

You could simply iterate through the array to look for all strings that start with the given letters. Having the list of words already sorted in your flat file would probably speed things up. I think this works pretty well:

$input = strtolower("bl"); //from the user
$colors = array("black", "blue", "brown", "..."); //already sorted alphabetically
$matches = array();
foreach ($colors as $c){
  if (strpos($c, $input) === 0){
    //if $c starts with $input, add to matches list
    $matches[] = $c;
  } else if (strcmp($input, $c) < 0){
    //$input comes after $c in alpha order
    //since $colors is sorted, we know that we won't find any more matches
    break;
  }
}

Juan Carlos Constantine · Answer 4 · 2021-12-28T05:17:47.513

2

like %search%

function like(array $arr, string $patron): array
    {
        return array_filter($arr, static function (mixed $value) use ($patron): bool {
            return 1 === preg_match(sprintf('/^%s$/i', preg_replace('/(^%)|(%$)/', '.*', $patron)), $value);
        });
    }

test

$b=['a'=>'peter','b'=>'patter','c'=>'alter','d'=>'all'];
var_dump(like($b,'%ter'));// ['a'=>'peter','b'=>'patter','c'=>'alter']
var_dump(like($b,'al%'));//['c'=>'alter','d'=>'all']

edited Dec 28 '21 at 05:17

answered Dec 28 '21 at 04:09

Juan Carlos Constantine

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1
4

What if the input is an array? Please help, thanks. – Awan Jul 16 '23 at 14:14

filter values from an array similar to SQL LIKE '%search%' using PHP

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