Regular expression or sprintf-like function to format strings in PHP

Question

I have a set of strings that I'd like to display in a specific format:

| Type     | Example    | Regex                   | Output         |
|----------|------------|-------------------------|----------------|
| Ref      | 0909090    | [0-9]{8}                | "09090909"     |
| Identity | 6001002003 | [0-9]{10}               | "600 100 2003" |
| Internal | M12/45678  | [Mm][0-9]{2}/[0-9]{4,8} | "M12 / 45678"  |

Is there a function in PHP that would allow me to pass something like a regular expression or a sprintf string that would allow me to format a string in a particular way.

It doesn't need to be either of those, but it does need to be able to be specified as a string. This is so I can store it in some kind of data object that will look like:

[
   {
      name: "identity",
      regex: "[0-9]{10}",
      format: "%3c %3c %4c" /* or whatever it ends up being */
   },
   // ....
]

The function should work along the lines of:

echo formatMyString('6001002003', '%3c %3c %4c') // returns "600 100 2003"

Post the actual code where you want to use this because as it stands, this question isn't very clear about what you're trying to accomplish — WillardSolutions
– WillardSolutions, Commented Jun 20, 2018 at 14:43
@WillardSolutions - added a bit more clarification as to the expected input and output. — Algy Taylor
– Algy Taylor, Commented Jun 20, 2018 at 14:45
Sounds like an XY problem. A regex of [0-9]{10} doesn't really make sense if you need three parts. You'd probably be better off writing functions to handle each format rather than doing something dynamic like this. — Devon Bessemer
– Devon Bessemer, Commented Jun 20, 2018 at 14:57
@NicoHaase - does sprintf format characters? (see last example) — Algy Taylor
– Algy Taylor, Commented Jun 20, 2018 at 15:06

i-- · Accepted Answer · 2018-06-20 15:07:27Z

2

Use preg_replace with preg_match check before applying it. Example:

function formatMyString($string) {
    $patterns = [
        [
            'name' => 'identity',
            'regex' => '^([0-9]{3})([0-9]{3})([0-9]{4})$',
            'format' => '$1 $2 $3'
        ]
    ];

    foreach ($patterns as $pattern) {
        if (preg_match('/'.$pattern['regex'].'/', $string)) {
            return preg_replace('/'.$pattern['regex'].'/', $pattern['format'], $string);
        }
    }

    return false;
}

answered Jun 20, 2018 at 15:07

i--

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2 Comments

Algy Taylor Over a year ago

Have used a slightly altered version of this - added a !== false check for the preg_match call, and just used the bit inside the foreach loop ... but it works perfectly. Thanks :)

i-- Over a year ago

@AlgyTaylor, preg_match() returns 1 if the pattern matches given subject, 0 if it does not, or FALSE if an error occurred. If you only use !== false it will let non-matches slip through and will break the logic.

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