Alpha-numeric only

[lowtide]

I am trying to check a string to make sure it contains only alpha-numeric characters. I have tried the following, but it does not work:

if (!eregi("[a-z0-9]",$request)){ .....

(error code)......

What am I doing wrong. Shouldn't this tell me if there are nonalpha-numeric characters in the $request string and if so then go through the code to produce an error message.

 

[kapok2002]

I think the only problem is that you're not looking for the uppercase letters. If so, try this:

[tt]if (eregi("^[a-zA-Z0-9]", $request))
{
//error code
}[/tt]

 

[lowtide]

Thanks kapok,
The ^ was what I needed.
One more question.
How would I also include "_"'s and "-"'s ?

 

[kapok2002]

It's simple, just add the characters you need to match:

[tt]eregi("^[a-zA-Z0-9_\-]", $request)[/tt]

Make sure you escape the dash(-) with a backslash(\). You also have to escape the period(.), just for future reference.