Is a string in PHP a character array?

Question

Like in C, can I use a string as an array?

For example:

$a = "abcd";
for ($b = 0; $b <= 3; $b++) {
  echo $a[$b];
}

Is a string in PHP an array, or based on arrays as in C?

No, it's not. It's a string. I just can be (partially) indexed as an array. Be more precise in what you need to know about it. Why is it important? — GolezTrol, Nov 08 '12 at 12:36
Note that strings provide an access syntax similar to arrays `$string[123]` but also provide for `$string{123}` to disambiguate. — mario, Nov 08 '12 at 13:20
deceze's answer here(http://stackoverflow.com/questions/17193597/strings-as-arrays-in-php) have more info — Binod Kalathil, Sep 14 '16 at 14:11
in PHP, strings are basically byte arrays. so if your string is only 1 emoji and you try to get its length with strlen, it will return 4. — NobodyImportant, Jul 08 '23 at 19:27

score 5 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 08 '19 at 02:25

5

Actually yes, but you have to use another syntax:

$a = "abcd";
for ($b = 0; $b <= 3; $b++) {
  echo $a{$b};
}

edited Nov 08 '19 at 02:25

Simson

answered Nov 08 '12 at 12:40

TrejGun

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Nov 08 '19 at 05:14

2

You can go through the whole string by checking on the string length, and getting each letter by using the substr() function:

$a = "abcd";
for($b = 0; $b <= strlen($a); $b++){
    echo substr($a, $b, 1).'<br>';
}

Hope this helps!

edited Nov 08 '19 at 05:14

answered Nov 08 '12 at 12:41

Bananam00n

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited Nov 08 '19 at 02:37

1

<?php 
  $str = "Lorem ipsum";
  if (is_array($str)) {
    echo "$str is array";
  }
  else {
    echo "$str is not array";
  }
?>

Result:

Lorem ipsum is not array

so....

edited Nov 08 '19 at 02:37

JSmith

answered Nov 08 '12 at 12:36

So how its work I mean in C I know that its save in memory like array – user1801625 Nov 08 '12 at 12:37
An Array is collection of elements of similar type which are referred by a common name.Each element is accessed by its value. First element has index 0 and last element has index which is 1 less than the size of array. Declaration of Array:- data_type array_name[size]; String is collection of characters. So it is called character array. Each string is terminated by null character('') – Vladimir Gordienko Nov 08 '12 at 12:51
so actual, yes, string located in memory like array, but it is not php array, it is isolated case of php array! – Vladimir Gordienko Nov 08 '12 at 13:36

score 1 · Answer 4 · edited Nov 08 '19 at 02:29

1

You should use str_split($string) in order to convert a string to an array

For instance:

var_dump(str_split("abc"));

will translate into

array(3) {
  [0]=> string(1) "a"
  [1]=> string(1) "b"
  [2]=> string(1) "c"
}

edited Nov 08 '19 at 02:29

Simson

answered Nov 08 '12 at 12:37

4 Answers4