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How to replace string in PHP

String is a collection of characters. You can replace string using str_replace() function. It is a PHP built in function.

In this article, I’m going to replace a string with another by using the PHP built-in str_replace() function. I putted here some useful examples and brief discussion.

Syntax:

str_replace(substring, replaced_string, original_string);

We need to provide three parameters.

Sub-string: substring is the string present in the original string that should be replaced

Replaced string: replaced_string is the new string that replaces the substring.

Original_string: original_string is the input string.

Count: This is an optional parameter to show the number of replacements

You can use PHP variable in the placement of parameters.

Example and discussion: Replace string in PHP

The examples below showing different application to make string replacement.

Example 1: Replaces a string with another string

<?php
 
//input string
$string = "I like coffee.";
 
//replacing string
$replace = str_replace("coffee","tea",$string);
 
//showing result
echo $replace;
 
?>

Output:

I like tea.

Example 2: Replace string with empty string

 

<?php
 
//input string
$string = "I like coffee.";
 
//replacing string
$replace = str_replace("coffee","",$string);
 
//showing result
echo $replace;
 
?>

Output:

I like .

Example 3: Replace string with integer

 

<?php
//input string
$string = "I like coffee.";
 
//replacing string
$replace = str_replace("coffee","2",$string);
 
//showing result
echo $replace;
 
?>

Output:

I like 2.

Note: This function is case-sensitive. You can use the str_ireplace() function to perform a case-insensitive search.

Example 5: Case insensetive replacement

<?php
echo str_replace("coffee","tea","I like Coffee.");
?>

This will result no replacement due to case sensitiveness. You need to follow the code below instead.

 

<?php
echo str_ireplace("coffee","tea","I like Coffee.");
?>

This will replace the string.

Example 6: Replace multiple words using array

<?php
 
//input string
$str = "I like pink, blue, and red colour";
 
//words to replace
$arr = array("blue","red","green","yellow");
 
//after replacing the words
$new = array("blue1","red1","green1","yellow1");
 
//replacing multiple words
$replace = str_replace($arr,$new,$str,$i);
 
//showing result
echo $replace.'<br>';
 
//showing the number of occurences
echo 'Total replacement '.$i;?>

Output:

I like pink, blue1, and red1 colour

Total replacement 2

Tarikul islam

About Torikul islam

Torikul islam is a professional web developer and affiliate marketer. Join Torikul to learn how to start a website and operate it well. He started his Web Developement career from Bangladesh Association of Software and Information (BASIS) in 2015. Later he continiued his journey to expanding knowledge and sharing it with others.

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