read string between two underscore

[mani-X]

Hello,
I need a function to get the string between _ and _ in the following example.

$file="mon_iam_miammiami_hellohello.doc";

i would like to have the characters "miammiami" inside a variable.

i have done it so far with this script:
$char=substr($file,8,-15);
echo $char;// miammiami

my problem is that the script is not flexible, if the beginning or any part of the file is changed it will fail.
example: mo_iam_miammiami_hellohell.doc

it will print "iammiam" which will not be the string i want to recuperate.

[scragar]

if(preg_match_all("/_(.*?)_/", $file, $matches);
print_r($matchs[1]);

[NogDog]

One question you need to resolve is, will it always be "aaa_bbb_ccc_ddd.doc", where the value of interest will be "ccc"? Or could it sometimes be "aaa_ccc_ddd.doc" or "aaa_bbb_ccc_ddd_eee.doc", etc.? In other words, how do you know it's the "_maimmiami_" pattern that you want to grab in your sample instead of the "_iam_" pattern?

[mani-X]

i have managed this, even if i have changed the any value outside the two underscores:

$value = preg_replace("/.*\_(.*)\_.*/", "$1", $file, 1);
echo $value; //miammiami

one last thing how you think i can get the value between the underscore and the period in the file i.e.: _hellohello.doc

i want 2 variables to hold the first 5 characters and another to hold the other 5 characters:
example:
$var1 to hold hello
$var2 to hold hello

Nogdog be advised the file will always in format "aaa_bbb_ccc_ddd". but i need to make sure that if it changes one day i can get the desired part of it.

Scragar what do you think?? I will try your code.

[scragar]

well mine just stored an array of values between underscores in $matches[1] the easy way :P

$preDot = preg_replace("/_([^_]*)\./", "$1", $file);will store value between an underscore and the period in $preDot

[mani-X]

i have tried your code:

$preDot = preg_replace("/_([^_]*)\./", "$1", $file);

it prompts me: syntax error unexpected $
I will look deeper in the preg_replace functions

thnx for your help Scagar

[scragar]

I wrote it wrong:

preg_match_all("/_(.*?)_/", $file, $matches);
print_r($matches[1]);
it's possible to put it in an if code if you wanted, personaly I would use that as an extra layer of protection against bad results.

[mani-X]

still the same problem. the same error, all i need to understand more is the regex(regularexpressions)

[Huevoos]

The regex is fine something else must be wrong in your script

[kurby]

For those of us that are regex illiterate, explode will do the same thing.


$subStrs = explode("_", $file);

[mani-X]

hello thanks a lot,
i have done it this way:

$file="mon_iam_miammiami_hellohello.doc";
$predot = preg_replace("/.*_([^_]*)\.doc/", "$1", $file,1);
echo $predot; //hellohello

very great help from you all, Scragar thnx a lot, Nogdog,huevoos, Kurby great support. I will look further to overcome this.