preg_match() returns 0 although regex testers work

Question

I'm trying to validate a string using /[\p{L}\s]{6,}/ and trying to match characters only (Unicode ones as well). I used regex101 to test my regex and it works for the string Владимир Алексић. However, when I use that regex in preg_match() with the same string, it always returns 0. Yet, it returns 1 if I avoid all characters except A-Za-z.

Why is that so?

preg_match() returns 1 if the pattern matches given subject, 0 if it does not, or FALSE if an error occurred. — Jonathan, Jun 18 '16 at 18:26
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2351649/matching-utf-characters-with-preg-match-in-php-utf8-works-on-windows-but-not — Jonathan, Jun 18 '16 at 18:27
@Jonathan But the pattern should match given subject and return 1. I used the same regex on regex101 and in my code, and the same string, but results are different. — valek, Jun 18 '16 at 18:28
@Jonathan Yes, and I've just seen that my regex wouldn't work because I didn't add u pattern modifier, which I didn't know I had to add. All good now, thanks for your help! — valek, Jun 18 '16 at 18:35

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 18 '16 at 18:31

3

Use \p{Cyrillic} to match the cyrillic characters, i.e.:

/[\p{L}\p{Cyrillic}\s]{6,}/u

Source: Source

answered Jun 18 '16 at 18:31

Ruben

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score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 18 '16 at 18:31

3

The \p and other escape sequences which work with unicode character properties don't work unless the u pattern modifier is set.

/[\p{L}\s]{6,}/u

answered Jun 18 '16 at 18:31

Shira

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I didn't know that. Regex is really my weakness. Thanks, that worked. – valek Jun 18 '16 at 18:35

preg_match() returns 0 although regex testers work

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