filter values from an array similar to SQL LIKE '%search%' using PHP

Question

I created an autocomplete field using JQueryUI and I've stored my data in a flat doc. I can read the values into an array... but I would like to be able to return the alphabetic matches based on the user input. So if the array contains [orange,blue,green,red,pink,brown,black] and the user types bl then I only return [blue,black].

Looking at array_diff() but without complete matches on the entire value of the array, I'm not sure how to use it... maybe a regular expression thrown in? My two weakest skills array manipulation and regex Thanks for the help!

did you look at the autocomplete 'xml data parsed once' example (jqueryui.com/demos/autocomplete/#xml)? You may find it easier and more efficient to change your data storage format. — dnagirl
– dnagirl, Commented Apr 27, 2011 at 18:52

Alix Axel · Accepted Answer · 2013-06-05 17:02:20Z

68

You don't need to use array_filter and a custom / lambda function, preg_grep does the trick:

$input = preg_quote('bl', '~'); // don't forget to quote input string!
$data = array('orange', 'blue', 'green', 'red', 'pink', 'brown', 'black');

$result = preg_grep('~' . $input . '~', $data);

edited Jun 5, 2013 at 17:02

answered Apr 27, 2011 at 19:08

Alix Axel

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15 Comments

Ecropolis Over a year ago

Your answer led me to preg_grep(). Changed preg_filter() to that and removed null and worked like a charm; thanks!

Alix Axel Over a year ago

@Ecropolis: I think the correct syntax in this case is preg_filter('~' . $input . '~', '$0', $data);.

Alix Axel Over a year ago

@EmilioGort: Sure, just add an i modifier after the last ~ delimiter.

Alix Axel Over a year ago

@MichaelRopy: $result = preg_grep('~^' . $input . '~', $data);

Nandakumar Over a year ago

Great answer. Every time this answer comes up in google when I search for array filters.

|

Community · Accepted Answer · 2023-11-17 19:42:58Z

16

array_filter(), with a callback filtering function based on stripos(), should do the trick.

For example, if the input is stored in `$input`, and your array in `$data` :

$input = 'bl';
$data = array('orange', 'blue', 'green', 'red', 'pink', 'brown', 'black');

Filtering to keep only the words that contain $input (no matter where in the string) could be done this way :

$result = array_filter($data, function ($item) use ($input) {
    if (stripos($item, $input) !== false) {
        return true;
    }
    return false;
});

var_dump($result);

And, here, you'd get :

array
  1 => string 'blue' (length=4)
  6 => string 'black' (length=5)

Changing the filtering callback, you can :

Test if the string begins with the input -- testing if the value returned by stripos() is === 0
Use a case-sensitive matching function, like strpos()

edited Nov 17, 2023 at 19:42

CommunityBot

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answered Apr 27, 2011 at 18:52

Pascal MARTIN

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1 Comment

murtho Over a year ago

this is the right solution if you want to maintain key values and be able to use non integer keys

Michael · Accepted Answer · 2011-04-27 20:16:43Z

2

You could simply iterate through the array to look for all strings that start with the given letters. Having the list of words already sorted in your flat file would probably speed things up. I think this works pretty well:

$input = strtolower("bl"); //from the user
$colors = array("black", "blue", "brown", "..."); //already sorted alphabetically
$matches = array();
foreach ($colors as $c){
  if (strpos($c, $input) === 0){
    //if $c starts with $input, add to matches list
    $matches[] = $c;
  } else if (strcmp($input, $c) < 0){
    //$input comes after $c in alpha order
    //since $colors is sorted, we know that we won't find any more matches
    break;
  }
}

answered Apr 27, 2011 at 20:16

Michael

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Comments

Juan Carlos Constantine · Accepted Answer · 2021-12-28 05:17:47Z

2

like %search%

function like(array $arr, string $patron): array
    {
        return array_filter($arr, static function (mixed $value) use ($patron): bool {
            return 1 === preg_match(sprintf('/^%s$/i', preg_replace('/(^%)|(%$)/', '.*', $patron)), $value);
        });
    }

test

$b=['a'=>'peter','b'=>'patter','c'=>'alter','d'=>'all'];
var_dump(like($b,'%ter'));// ['a'=>'peter','b'=>'patter','c'=>'alter']
var_dump(like($b,'al%'));//['c'=>'alter','d'=>'all']

edited Dec 28, 2021 at 5:17

answered Dec 28, 2021 at 4:09

Juan Carlos Constantine

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1 Comment

Awan Over a year ago

What if the input is an array? Please help, thanks.

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