Question

I need to replace all words starting with @ in a text with the corresponding link to that twitter account. Right now I’m using something like this:

$tweet_text = preg_replace('/(@\w+)/', '<a href=\'#\'>\1</a>', $string);

That works, but the link goes nowhere. I’ve decided to use a combination of strpos() and substr() to get the actual word and then be able to link to that twitter account, but I was wondering if there’s a better solution. Any ideas?

Examples:

Before replacement:

'Imperfection is the new perfection... RT @xHausOfCandy: @katyperry i think your bottom teeth and your wonk eye make you even more adorable.'

After replacement:

'Imperfection is the new perfection... RT <a href=''#''>@xHausOfCandy</a>: <a href=''#''>@katyperry</a> i think your bottom teeth and your wonk eye make you even more adorable.'

Desired:

'Imperfection is the new perfection... RT <a href=''http://twitter.com/xHausOfCandy''>@xHausOfCandy</a>: <a href=''http://twitter.com/katyperry''>@katyperry</a> i think your bottom teeth and your wonk eye make you even more adorable.'

Hope it’s more clear now!

Answer 1

Have the name in it’s own capture group and use \2 when referring to it in the replacement.

$tweet_text = preg_replace('/(@(\w+))/', '<a href="http://twitter.com/\2">\1</a>', $string);