PHP - Slicing Strings
Slicing
You can return a range of characters by using the substr() function.
Specify the start index and the number of characters you want to return.
Example
Start the slice at index 6 and end the slice 5 positions later:
$x = "Hello World!";
echo substr($x, 6, 5);
Note The first character has index 0.
Slice to the End
By leaving out the length parameter, the range will go to the end:
Example
Start the slice at index 6 and go all the way to the end:
$x = "Hello World!";
echo substr($x, 6);
Slice From the End
Use negative indexes to start the slice from the end of the string:
Example
Get the 3 characters, starting from the "o" in world (index -5):
$x = "Hello World!";
echo substr($x, -5, 3);
Note The last character has index -1.
Negative Length
Use negative length to specify how many characters to omit, starting from the end of the string:
Example
From the string "Hi, how are you?", get the characters starting from index 5, and continue until you reach the 3. character from the end (index -3).
Should end up with "ow are y":
$x = "Hi, how are you?";
echo substr($x, 5, -3);
Complete PHP String Reference
For a complete reference of all string functions, go to our complete PHP String Reference.
