PHP: Extract specific word after specific word in a string?

Question

I have a string that looks like this:

{"ip":"XX.XX.XX","country_code":"IE","country_name":"Ireland","region_code":"L","region_name":"Leinster","city":"Dublin","zip_code":"","time_zone":"Europe/Dublin","latitude":53.333,"longitude":-6.249,"metro_code":0}

i only need the value for the country_name from that string.

so I tried this:

$country = '{"ip":"XX.XX.XX","country_code":"IE","country_name":"Ireland","region_code":"L","region_name":"Leinster","city":"Dublin","zip_code":"","time_zone":"Europe/Dublin","latitude":53.333,"longitude":-6.249,"metro_code":0}';

if (preg_match('#^country_name: ([^\s]+)#m', $country, $match)) {
    $result = $match[1];
}

echo $result;

but there is nothing being echoed in the $result

Could someone please advise on this issue?

this looks like a json string. you should find a library that can convert it to an object and extract the value from that object. This is way easier than string parsing — Domysee
– Domysee, Commented Oct 27, 2015 at 15:23

André Catita · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-27 15:29:19Z

5

$country = json_decode('{"ip":"XX.XX.XX","country_code":"IE","country_name":"Ireland","region_code":"L","region_name":"Leinster","city":"Dublin","zip_code":"","time_zone":"Europe/Dublin","latitude":53.333,"longitude":-6.249,"metro_code":0}');

echo $country->country_name;

What you have there is a JSON string.

JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation. PHP can decode it into an Array or Object via json_decode($string, FALSE);

The 2nd parameter by default is FALSE, which means it will convert the string into an object, which you can then access as I showed you above.

answered Oct 27, 2015 at 15:29

André Catita

1,32316 silver badges19 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Comments

Kostas Mitsarakis · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-27 23:57:41Z

2

If for some reason you don't want to use JSON you can give the following a try. Note that using JSON is the recommended way doing this task.

$country = '{"ip":"XX.XX.XX","country_code":"IE","country_name":"Ireland","region_code":"L","region_name":"Leinster","city":"Dublin","zip_code":"","time_zone":"Europe/Dublin","latitude":53.333,"longitude":-6.249,"metro_code":0}';

$temp = explode('"country_name":', $country); //Explode initial string
$temp_country = explode(',', $temp[1]); //Get only country name
$country_name = str_replace('"', ' ', $temp_country[0]); //Remove double quotes
echo $country_name;

Result:

Ireland

edited Oct 27, 2015 at 23:57

answered Oct 27, 2015 at 15:38

Kostas Mitsarakis

4,7473 gold badges26 silver badges38 bronze badges

5 Comments

André Silva Over a year ago

In my honest opinion, when you have a JSON string, you shouldn't even think about treating it as a regular string and use explodes and such. Hence the downvote.

Kostas Mitsarakis Over a year ago

This is why i didn't just write down the code but i first had the phrase: " If for some reason you don't want to use JSON " !

Kostas Mitsarakis Over a year ago

I also upvoted the accepted answer because it was a good answer but it's nice to provide other options too (just in case).

André Silva Over a year ago

Alright. Edit the answer so I can remove my downvote.

Kostas Mitsarakis Over a year ago

I think it looks better now giving that note.

Manikiran · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-27 15:39:06Z

0

Try this:

<?php
$country=json_decode('{"ip":"XX.XX.XX","country_code":"IE","country_name":"Ireland","region_code":"L","region_name":"Leinster","city":"Dublin","zip_code":"","time_zone":"Europe/Dublin","latitude":53.333,"longitude":-6.249,"metro_code":0}')
$result=$country->country_name;
echo $result;
?>

edited Oct 27, 2015 at 15:39

answered Oct 27, 2015 at 15:27

Manikiran

2,6451 gold badge27 silver badges40 bronze badges

4 Comments

AbraCadaver Over a year ago

Works, but why the {}? Not needed here.

Manikiran Over a year ago

@AbraCadaver I tried to implement as demonstrated in the Manual. Check it out: php.net/manual/en/function.json-decode.php

AbraCadaver Over a year ago

That's for invalid property names, country_name is perfectly valid.

AbraCadaver Over a year ago

Uh... You don't want the quotes either :-(

FirstOne · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-27 16:01:16Z

0

This looks like a json string. Read more about JSON.

Use it like this:

$foo = '{"ip":"XX.XX.XX","country_code":"IE","country_name":"Ireland","region_code":"L","region_name":"Leinster","city":"Dublin","zip_code":"","time_zone":"Europe/Dublin","latitude":53.333,"longitude":-6.249,"metro_code":0}';
$bar = json_decode($foo, true);
echo $bar['country_name'];

This can be used with any key from that string (eg ip, city)

More about json_decode.

edited Oct 27, 2015 at 16:01

answered Oct 27, 2015 at 15:28

FirstOne

6,2857 gold badges28 silver badges48 bronze badges

1 Comment

AbraCadaver Over a year ago

Notice: Undefined variable: a

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

PHP: Extract specific word after specific word in a string?

4 Answers 4

Comments

5 Comments

4 Comments

1 Comment

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

4 Answers 4

Comments

5 Comments

4 Comments

1 Comment

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related