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phppreg-replacepreg-filter

preg_replace() versus preg_filter()

What are the differences between preg_replace() and preg_filter()?

In which situations should I use one instead of the other?

I tried reading the documentation, but still don't quite understand what the differences are.

Solution

  • preg_filter() is identical to preg_replace() except it only returns the (possibly transformed) subjects where there was a match. For details about how this function works, read the preg_replace() documentation.

    from: here

    So if the signature is 

    preg_filter ( mixed $pattern , mixed $replacement , 
              mixed $subject [, int $limit = -1 [, int &$count ]] )

    it returns the $subject arguments "transformed" (all the match with regex pattern are substitute) into an array