PHP str_replace different for first instance

Question

I've got the following str_replace code:

$filterString = "[++] has performed well. [++] is showing good understanding";

echo str_replace("[++]", "Name", $filterString);

It basically replaces all instances of [++] with Name. However, i would like to only replace the first instance of the [++] with Name and all other instances should say He

Any idea how i can do this?

Thanks

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 10:25

2

Using str_replace so that it only acts on the first match?

echo preg_replace('/\[\+\+\]/', 'Name', $filterString, 1);

edited May 23 '17 at 10:25

Community

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answered Jan 14 '14 at 08:50

Sergei Gorjunov

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But there should be changes "[++]" => "He" as well? – NewInTheBusiness Jan 14 '14 at 09:03
Yes, sorry. Then we need 2 steps $filterString = preg_replace('/\[\+\+\]/', 'Name', $filterString, 1); $filterString = str_replace("[++]",'He',$filterString); echo $filterString; – Sergei Gorjunov Jan 14 '14 at 10:02

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 14 '14 at 08:49

You can use preg_replace() instead of str_replace()

mixed preg_replace ( mixed $pattern , mixed $replacement , mixed $subject [, int $limit = -1 [, int &$count ]] )

After this first replace, you can use str_replace() for all the other ++ to replace with "He".

Later edit: I checked and I saw that str_replace() has a limit parameter so you could use it too instead of preg_replace().

NewInTheBusiness · Accepted Answer · 2014-01-14T09:59:49.593

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Just to toss in a one-row solution:

$filterString = str_replace("[++]","He",preg_replace("/\[\+\+\]/", "Name", $filterString, 1));

------EDIT-----

$filterString = preg_replace_callback('/[.!?].*?\w/',
                              function($matches) { return strtoupper($matches[0]);},
                              str_replace("[++]","he",preg_replace("/\[\+\+\]/", "Name", $filterString, 1)));

This will change all characters that start a sentence to uppercase, plus fix all your earlier issues.

edited Jan 14 '14 at 09:59

answered Jan 14 '14 at 09:00

NewInTheBusiness

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Thanks, I've just realized that when replacing the ++ from the second instance onwards with the word He, the word He can either be with a capital H or a lower case h depending on if there is a fullstop before it. Any idea how I can do this? – John Smith Jan 14 '14 at 09:12
I'll get back to you on that...about to eat dinner ;) – NewInTheBusiness Jan 14 '14 at 09:33
@JohnSmith A new edit was just posted...does this take care of your issues? – NewInTheBusiness Jan 14 '14 at 10:02

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 14 '14 at 09:08

If you just want to replace [++] for "Name" once, you should use preg_replace using the limit parameter, and then you can replace the rest of the string:

$filterString = "[++] has performed well. [++] is showing good understanding. [++] is a good student.";
$filterString = preg_replace("/\[\+\+\]/",'Name',$filterString,1);
$filterString = str_replace("[++]",'He',$filterString);     
echo $filterString; //will print "Name has performed well. He is showing good understanding. He is a good student."

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Jan 14 '14 at 09:17

0

Try this...

$filterString = "[++] has performed well. [++] is showing good understanding.";

$newstr = substr_replace($filterString, "Name", 0, 4);

echo str_replace("[++]", "He", $newstr);

answered Jan 14 '14 at 09:17

Deepu Sasidharan

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@John Smith: is this help you? – Deepu Sasidharan Jan 14 '14 at 09:21

PHP str_replace different for first instance

5 Answers5