Regular expression in PHP : retrieve a specific string from another string

Question

I want to extract some words from a string.

The 24,000th eligible entrant will win. This giveaway started September 14,  
2018 3:35 PM PDT and ends the earlier of September 21, 2018 11:59 PM PDT or  
when the prize has been awarded.

The words I would like extracting are:

24,000th
September 14, 2018 3:35 PM
September 21, 2018 11:59 PM

I have tried using the following:

$regex = "[\d,]+th|\w+[\d\s,:]+PM";

if (preg_match($regex, $str, $match)) {
    echo $match[0];
}

I think you shoud use the html code to do that. But please describe your question more. — Azhy, Sep 15 '18 at 11:19
I have a paragraph and i want to extract some words from it. You can see in my question — Mujahid Islam, Sep 15 '18 at 11:21
The 24,000th eligible entrant will win. This giveaway started September 14, 2018 3:35 PM PDT and ends the earlier of September 21, 2018 11:59 PM PDT or when the prize has been awarded. $regex = '/[0-9][^\\.;]*(th)[^\\.;]*/'; if (preg_match($regex, $str, $match)) echo $match[0]; — Mujahid Islam, Sep 15 '18 at 11:24
Please don't write code in comments. It's unreadable. Edit your question to include all relevant information/code. — M. Eriksson, Sep 15 '18 at 11:32
Use [preg_match_all](http://php.net/manual/en/function.preg-match-all.php) with [delimiters](http://php.net/manual/en/regexp.reference.delimiters.php) for the regex: `$str = "The 24,000th eligible entrant will win. This giveaway started September 14, 2018 3:35 PM PDT and ends the earlier of September 21, 2018 11:59 PM PDT or when the prize has been awarded."; $regex = '~[\d,]+th|\w+[\d\s,:]+PM~'; preg_match_all($regex, $str, $matches); var_dump($matches);` — The fourth bird, Sep 15 '18 at 11:44
@MujahidIslam I have just edited your question. Please see revision. What I have noticed is that you do not understand what a Regular Expression is. A regular expression needs to start and end with a `/`. And various flags can follow the trailing `/` — JustCarty, Sep 15 '18 at 11:55

The Scientific Method · Answer 1 · 2018-09-15T12:12:56.377

1

you may try this

/[\d,]+th|September[\d\s,:]+PM/

if the month is changing

/[\d,]+th|\w+[\d\s,:]+PM/

in your code:

$regex = "/[\d,]+th|\w+[\d\s,:]+PM/"

if (preg_match_all($regex, $str, $match))
    echo $match[0]

;

for explanation see link

demo here

edited Sep 15 '18 at 12:12

answered Sep 15 '18 at 11:24

The Scientific Method

2,374
2
14
25

What about other months? It may be worth creating a list of months? – JustCarty Sep 15 '18 at 11:25
Unknown modifier '+ error appears – Mujahid Islam Sep 15 '18 at 11:28
@MujahidIslam try to see at regex101.com, it is working, – The Scientific Method Sep 15 '18 at 11:29
@JustCarty thanks updated. – The Scientific Method Sep 15 '18 at 11:30
yes its working there but when i implement it in my code it does not working – Mujahid Islam Sep 15 '18 at 11:31
1

@MujahidIslam What does your PHP code look like? can you please edit your question with the code extract? – JustCarty Sep 15 '18 at 11:31
@MujahidIslam, try now as edited by justCarty – The Scientific Method Sep 15 '18 at 11:55

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 15 '18 at 11:56

You need to add delimiter to your regex, and use preg_match_all:

$str = "The 24,000th eligible entrant will win. This giveaway started September 14, 2018 3:35 PM PDT and ends the earlier of September 21, 2018 11:59 PM PDT or when the prize has been awarded.";
$regex = "/[\d,]+th|\w+[\d\s,:]+PM/";

if (preg_match_all($regex, $str, $match))
    print_r($match[0]);

Output:

Array
(
    [0] => 24,000th
    [1] => September 14, 2018 3:35 PM
    [2] => September 21, 2018 11:59 PM
)

Regular expression in PHP : retrieve a specific string from another string

2 Answers2