Question

I use php preg_match to match the first & last word in a variable with a given first & last specific words,

example:

$first_word = 't'; // I want to force 'this'
$last_word = 'ne'; // I want to force 'done'
$str = 'this function can be done';

if(preg_match('/^' . $first_word . '(.*)' . $last_word .'$/' , $str))
{
     echo 'true';
}

But the problem is i want to force match the whole word at (starting & ending) not the first or last characters.

Answer 1

Using \b as boudary word limit in search:

$first_word = 't'; // I want to force 'this'
$last_word = 'ne'; // I want to force 'done'
$str = 'this function can be done';
if(preg_match('/^' . $first_word . '\b(.*)\b' . $last_word .'$/' , $str))
{
     echo 'true';
}