Out of all eight data types, PHP strings is considered one of the simplest, along with integers, floats, and booleans.
There are built-in PHP string functions for manipulating strings. One of the common uses is to use one of the PHP functions to split the string into smaller parts if the length of a string. You can also use them to have a specific PHP string replaced, modified, or perform other actions.
PHP String Functions: Main Tips
- As the naming suggests, PHP string functions help to perform different actions on string data.
- They are integrated into the core of PHP.
- Among the most basic and widely used are PHP compare strings and PHP trim string functions.

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List of Methods
Let's see the complete list of PHP string functions and their descriptions. The table is organized in alphabetical order, so you can always find a particular one quickly when you need to, say, have a certain PHP string replaced:
Function | Description |
---|---|
addcslashes() | Makes a new string by adding backslashes to the front of each specified character |
addslashes() | Makes a new string by adding backslashes to the front of predefined characters |
bin2hex() | Makes a new string by converting every character of a string to hexadecimal values |
chop() | Makes a new string by removing whitespace and other unnecessary characters from the right side of a string |
chr() | Displays a character defined by a specified ASCII value |
chunk_split() | Splits the string into smaller parts |
convert_cyr_string() | Converts a string from one Cyrillic character-set to another |
convert_uudecode() | Decodes a uuencoded string |
convert_uuencode() | Makes a new string by converting using the uuencode algorithm |
count_chars() | Gives information about characters that the string contains |
crc32() | Calculates a 32-bit CRC for a string |
crypt() | Makes a one-way hashing of a string |
echo() | Displays the specified string(s) |
explode() | Splits a string into array elements |
fprintf() | Writes the string into specified output stream |
get_html_translation_table() | Returns the translation table used by htmlspecialchars() and htmlentities() |
hebrev() | Hebrew text is converted to plain text |
hebrevc() | Converts Hebrew text to visual text and new lines (\n) into <br> |
hex2bin() | Makes a new string by converting the specified string of hexadecimal characters to ASCII characters |
html_entity_decode() | Makes a new string by converting HTML elements to characters |
htmlentities() | Makes a new string by converting plain text to HTML entities |
htmlspecialchars_decode() | Makes a new string by converting predefined HTML elements to characters |
htmlspecialchars() | Makes a new string by converting predefined characters to HTML elements |
implode() | Joins a PHP array to string |
join() | Alternative to implode() |
lcfirst() | Makes a new string by converting the first letter of the specified string to lowercase |
levenshtein() | Returns the Levenshtein distance between two PHP strings |
localeconv() | Returns information about locale numeric and monetary formatting |
ltrim() | Makes a new string by removing whitespace and other unnecessary characters from the left side of a string |
md5() | Creates the MD5 hash of a string |
md5_file() | Creates the MD5 hash of a specified file |
metaphone() | Creates a metaphone key of a string |
money_format() | Makes a new string by formatting it as a currency string |
nl_langinfo() | Returns information about a specific location |
nl2br() | Puts new HTML line breaks in the front of every newline in a string |
number_format() | Makes a new string by formatting a number. Groups thousands |
ord() | Takes the first character of a string and returns its ASCII value |
parse_str() | Puts a query string into specified variables |
print() | Displays a specified string or multiple strings |
printf() | Displays a specified formatted string or multiple strings |
quoted_printable_decode() | Makes a new string by converting quoted-printable string into an 8-bit string |
quoted_printable_encode() | Makes a new string by converting an 8-bit string into quoted-printable string |
quotemeta() | Quotes meta characters |
rtrim() | Makes a new string by removing whitespace and other unnecessary characters from the right side of a string |
setlocale() | Sets information about the locale |
sha1() | Creates a SHA-1 hash for a string |
sha1_file() | Creates a SHA-1 hash for a file |
similar_text() | Compares two PHP strings |
soundex() | Creates a soundex key for a string |
sprintf() | Takes a formatted string and writes it to a variable |
sscanf() | Takes input from a string depending on the format |
str_getcsv() | Takes CSV string and puts it into an array |
str_ireplace() | Makes a new string by replacing characters of a string. The method is not case-sensitive |
str_pad() | Makes a new string by padding it to a new PHP string length |
str_repeat() | Makes a new string by repeating a specified string a set number of times |
str_replace() | Makes PHP string replace part of its content. The method is case-sensitive |
spstr_rot13() | Performs the ROT13 encoding on a string |
str_shuffle() | Makes a new string by randomly shuffling all characters |
str_split() | Splits PHP string to array |
str_word_count() | Returns how many wors are in a string |
strcasecmp() | Compares two specified PHP strings. The method is not case-sensitive |
strchr() | Searches for the first occurrence of a specified string in another string |
strcmp() | Compares two specified PHP strings. The method is case-sensitive |
strcoll() | Compares two specified PHP strings. Comparison is based on locale string |
strcspn() | Returns a count of characters until a specified character is found |
strip_tags() | Removes PHP and HTML tags from a string |
stripcslashes() | Makes a new string by removing quotes that were added using the addcslashes() method |
stripslashes() | Makes a new string by removing quotes that were added using the addslashes() method |
stripos() | Searches for the first occurrence of a specified string in another string. Returns the position. The method is not case-sensitive |
stristr() | Searches for the first occurrence of a specified string in another string. The method is not case-sensitive |
strlen() | Calculates PHP string length and returns it |
strnatcasecmp() | Compares two specified PHP strings. Uses natural order algorithm. The method is not case-sensitive |
strnatcmp() | Compares two specified PHP strings. Uses natural order algorithm. The method is case-sensitive |
strncasecmp() | Compares two specified PHP strings. Compares only specified number of first characters. The method is not case-sensitive |
strncmp() | Compares two specified PHP strings. Compares only specified number of first characters. The method is case-sensitive |
strpbrk() | Searches for any of the specified characters in a given string |
strpos() | Searches for the first occurrence of a specified string in another string. The method is case-sensitive |
strrchr() | Searches for the last occurrence of a specified string in another string |
strrev() | Makes a new string by reversing the given string |
strripos() | Searches for the last position of a specified string in another string. The method is not case-sensitive |
strrpos() | Searches for the last position of a specified string in another string. The method is case-sensitive |
strspn() | Counts the number of characters found in a string that are in a specified charlist |
strstr() | Searches for the first occurrence of a specified string in another string. The method is case-sensitive |
strtok() | Splits the specified string into smaller strings |
strtolower() | Changes all the characters of a string to lowercase letters |
strtoupper() | Changes all the characters of a string to PHP uppercase letters |
strtr() | Translates certain characters in a string |
substr() | Cuts a part of a string and returns it |
substr_compare() | Compares parts of two PHP strings. The start position and case-sensitivity can be specified |
substr_count() | Returns how many times a substring occurs in a string |
substr_replace() | Replaces a part of a string with another string |
trim() | Makes a new string by removing whitespace and other unnecessary characters from both sides of a string |
ucfirst() | Changes the first character of a string to PHP uppercase |
ucwords() | Changes the first letter of every word to PHP uppercase |
vfprintf() | Puts a formatted string to an output stream |
vprintf() | Displays a formatted string in an output |
vsprintf() | Puts a formatted string into a variable |
wordwrap() | Wraps a given string into specified number of characters |
PHP String Functions: Summary
- When performing various actions using string data, PHP string functions come in handy. For example, you can easily turn PHP array to string or PHP string to array.
- PHP string functions are inbuilt and don't require any installation.
- One of the most commonly used methods are applied to PHP compare strings and PHP trim string.