preg_split

[brownfox]

I have a search page that queries mySQL and prints the results. Here's the form:
<form name="form1" method="post" action="">
<input name="search-terms" type="text" id="search-terms">
<input type="submit" name="Submit" value="Submit">
</form>
But what if the user puts more than one term into the input box (search_terms)? I want to be able to split the words up put them into an array and use each on a query:
$search_terms = $_POST['search_terms'];
select from myTable where myCol = '$search_terms'
Any help much appreciated!

 

[peacecodotnet]

You could use the explode() function. This allows you to break a string up into pieces, seperated by some kind of character. So, for example, you could break a string up into pieces seperated by the spaces, thus getting each individual word as a result.

Here is how you use it:

$longstring = "THIS IS A STRING";
$pieces = explode(" ", $longstring);
echo $pieces[0]; // THIS
echo $pieces[1]; // IS
echo $pieces[2]; // A
echo $pieces[3]; // STRING

And there you have it. You can figure out some way to search the words individually through a for loop or something instead of just printing them like that script does.

The first argument of explode() is the thing you want to break it apart by...in this case a space. You could also use a comma or something. The second argument is just the string you want broken up.

Hope this helps! Post me back if it does!

Peace out,
Peace Co.

 

[peacecodotnet]

And by the way, if you want a more in-depth look at explode(), just go to

http://us2.php.net/manual/en/function.explode.php

Hope this helps also!

Peace out,
Peace Co.