PHP weird "spaces"

Question

I've a problem importing a csv file ... The following code gives me something like this:

array(3) { [0]=> string(1) "" [1]=> string(23) "Entfernung " [2]=> string(19) "1.3042 km" }

As you see, the number of characters doesnt match with the real word ("Entfernung" doesnt have 23 characters...) ...

Deeper research shows me that somehow an "invisble" whitspace is after each character (like. " E n t f e r n u n g") ...

How can i get rid of this / or prevent it ?

The Code ($files = array with filenames):

 for ($i=0; $i < count($files); $i++) {
    $handle = fopen($files[$i], "r"); 
        while ($proc_file = fgetcsv($handle,0,",",";")) { 
        var_dump ($proc_file); 
    echo "<br>"; 
}

Splitting for example "Entfernung" (=$proc_file[1]):

$test = $proc_file[1]; 
        for ($a=0; $a < strlen($test); $a++) {
            echo $test[$a]."-";             
        }

gives me

-E--n--t--f--e--r--n--u--n--g-- --

You'd probably do better fixing the code that generates the CSV file. — , Jan 07 '14 at 19:27
a) I can't fix the file - its automatically generated by an android app b) i think that these are ASCII characters (but im not sure) c) i think it means 23 character ... $var = "ABC DEF"; --> string(7) "ABC DEF" — Valinomycin, Jan 07 '14 at 19:30
Those aren't invisible spaces, it's 2 byte character encoding. Is there an actual error or problem here, or you just didn't like the byte counts? — Digital Chris, Jan 07 '14 at 19:31
I want to process some these csv files. But only some parts of it - So i need/want to search with an if clause ... — Valinomycin, Jan 07 '14 at 19:50
What about regexp ? http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1981349/regex-to-replace-multiple-spaces-with-a-single-space maybe this would be useful. — bal3no, Jan 07 '14 at 20:15

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 07 '14 at 19:31

0

You'll probably need to iterate through the indexed array returned by fgetcsv and clear all the whitespace

for ($i=0; $i < count($files); $i++) {
    $handle = fopen($files[$i], "r"); 
    while ($proc_file = fgetcsv($handle,0,",",";")) { 
        for($proc_file as $key => $val) {
            $proc_file[$key] = preg_replace('/\s+/', '', $val);
        }
    }
}

answered Jan 07 '14 at 19:31

Kostis

1,105
8
10

and the rest are still there? – Kostis Jan 07 '14 at 19:37
1

unfortunately ... yes ^^ – Valinomycin Jan 07 '14 at 19:38
1

what would happen if you removed all non-alphanumeric (keeping the .) preg_replace('/[^\da-z.]/i', '', $string); – Kostis Jan 07 '14 at 19:46
1

Ehm ... another thing: preg_replace('/[^\da-z.]/i', '', $string); works ... but i need at least the ":" too ... – Valinomycin Jan 07 '14 at 20:14
1

sorry for the belated response, preg_replace('/[^\da-z.:]/i', '', $string); – Kostis Jan 08 '14 at 11:21

PHP weird "spaces"

1 Answers1