Multi-Line String to an Array

Question

I have a list (as a string, say $peoplelist) like this:

Name1
Name2
Name3

What I'm trying to do is separate that entire string into separate elements (where each line corresponds to a new element // i.e. Element 1 is "Name1", Element 2 is "Name2", etc.) and place them into an array (essentially, use lines breaks as delimiters and split that string into separate elements to be put into an array under unique indexes).

This is what I have so far:

# Step 1 - Fetch the list
$peoplelist = file_get_contents('http://domain.tld/file-path/')
//The Contents of $peoplelist is stated at the top of this question.
//(The list of names in blue)

# Step 2 - Split the List, and put into an array
$arrayX = preg_split("/[\r\n]+/", $playerlist);
var_dump($arrayX);

Now, using the code mentioned above, this is what I get (output):

array(1) { [0]=> string(71) "Name1
Name2
Name3
" }

According to my output, (from what I understand) the entire string (the list from Step 1) is being placed into an array under a single index, which means that the second step isn't effectively doing what I intend it to do.

My question is, how do I split the list into separate elements (where each separate line on the original list is a unique element) and place these elements in an array?

EDIT: Thanks for all the help, everyone! And thank you, localheinz, for the solution :)

NOTE: If anyone reads this in the future, please ensure that your source file for the list contains raw data - my mistake was using a file with .php extension that contained html tags - this html script interfered with the indexing process.

"/\r\n|\n|\r/" should be "/[\r\n]+/"

Iłya Bursov
– Iłya Bursov

2015-12-29 03:07:02 +00:00
Commented Dec 29, 2015 at 3:07 — Iłya Bursov
– Iłya Bursov, Commented Dec 29, 2015 at 3:07
Thanks for the correction Lashane :)

Ash
– Ash

2015-12-29 03:46:25 +00:00
Commented Dec 29, 2015 at 3:46 — Ash
– Ash, Commented Dec 29, 2015 at 3:46

localheinz · Accepted Answer · 2017-08-20 22:55:57Z

9

Use file():

$arrayX = file(
    'http://domain.tld/file-path/',
    FILE_IGNORE_NEW_LINES
);

For reference, see:

http://php.net/manual/en/function.file.php

edited Aug 20, 2017 at 22:55

answered Dec 29, 2015 at 3:12

localheinz

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10 Comments

user557846 Over a year ago

this is the best of the answers (so far)

Ash Over a year ago

Thanks for the answer localheinz - I'll try it out, and let you know how it goes

Ash Over a year ago

It doesn't appear to work for me localheinz - the output displays an empty array.

localheinz Over a year ago

Weird, can you provide more details?

Ash Over a year ago

Yes! That worked. Output: array(2) { [0]=> string(5) "Name1" [1]=> string(12) "Name2" } Thanks so much for your help localheinz, and thank you everyone else for your answers, I appreciate it! I've learnt a lot today. :)

|

Ceeee · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-29 03:24:56Z

5

You can use explode() in PHP. See this code below splitting strings using delimeter \n:

explode("\n", $string);

edited Dec 29, 2015 at 3:24

answered Dec 29, 2015 at 3:03

Ceeee

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3 Comments

Phiter Over a year ago

I'm not entirely sure but for windows the line break delimiter is \r\n for some particular cases.

Ceeee Over a year ago

delimeter is not a problem

Ash Over a year ago

Hey Ceeee - thanks for the answer, but that doesn't appear to work for me. I get the same output

msthakur0064 · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-29 05:18:37Z

3

Try it.

<?php

$peoplelist = file_get_contents('text.txt');
$arrayX[0] = $peoplelist;
echo "<pre>";
var_dump($arrayX);

?>

=> OUTPUT

  array(1) {
  [0]=>
  string(19) "Name1
   Name2
   Name3"
 }

answered Dec 29, 2015 at 5:18

msthakur0064

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3 Comments

Ash Over a year ago

Hey Mukesh, thank you for replying. This script added all the names under a single index - is there a way to separate so that [0]=> Name1, [1]=> Name2, etc.?

Ash Over a year ago

I may be misunderstanding something... if I am, please let me know! I'm assuming that [0], [1] and any number within a set of brackets refers to a index number... am I correct? Also, what does string(int) mean? Thanks again :)

Ash Over a year ago

Just figured out that the integer refers to the number of characters within the entry. It looks like html from my .php source file is interfering with the indexing process. Do you know a way to output the list into a raw format with only line breaks? Thanks in advance!

roullie · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-29 03:11:24Z

2

using explode with a delimiter PHP_EOL for cross platform.

$str = "Name1
Name2
Name3";

var_dump(explode(PHP_EOL,$str));

will result to

array(3) {
  [0]=>
  string(5) "Name1"
  [1]=>
  string(5) "Name2"
  [2]=>
  string(5) "Name3"
}

answered Dec 29, 2015 at 3:11

roullie

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2 Comments

Itay Moav -Malimovka Over a year ago

Be aware PHP_EOL is good for the server side, not to handle user input. It might work for him, might not.

Ash Over a year ago

Hey roullie - thanks for the answer. However, when I tried it, it didn't appear to work. Output: array(1) { [0]=> string(52) "Name1 Name2 Name3 " }

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