preg_match using multiple wildcards not working in php

Question

I am using file_get_contents from a site that has data like this (I have copied only a bit of it):

<TD class=cellres align=left><a href=results.php?team=Wolves&league=EngPrem>Wolves</a></TD> <TD class=cellres align=left><a href=results.php?team=Liverpool&league=EngPrem><b>Liverpool</b></a></TD>

Here is my preg_match code:

preg_match('/<TD class=cellres align=left><a href=results.php?team=.*&league=.*>(.*?)<\/TD> /',$contents,$home);
echo $home[1] . '<br>';

As you can see, I am using multiple wildcards, the "team=" needs a wildcard and the "league=" needs another wildcard, all data has different teams and different leagues. The data I want is "Wolves" which is just before the tag. The code above I am not sure what is wrong with it, as it is not displaying any data. Anyone know why?

You would get better results by parsing the HTML, pulling the `href` then splitting on `&?`... or I think there is a function — user3783243, Dec 23 '18 at 20:58
You have valid html as input? Use a dom parser for stability, clarity, maintainability. — mickmackusa, Dec 23 '18 at 21:09

mickmackusa · Accepted Answer · 2018-12-23T21:51:55.427

1

You haven't escaped special characters in your pattern. For the record, you will have better long term success with a dom parser e.g. DomDocument accompanied with Xpath.

This should fix you up.

/<TD class=cellres align=left><a href=results\.php\?team=[^>]*&league=[^>]*>(.*?)<\/a><\/TD>/

edited Dec 23 '18 at 21:51

answered Dec 23 '18 at 21:33

mickmackusa

43,625
12
83
136

Thanks, works like a charm! I will look into DomDocument – Kevin Dec 23 '18 at 22:10

preg_match using multiple wildcards not working in php

1 Answers1