Question

I would like to ask about php’s preg_match_all. suppose we have the sample string below:

This is a clause with –value1– and -_value_2_- having a subclause of –value.3– items.

And i would like to extract all strings with the opening “-” and closing “-” characters. Needed output should be:

Array  
(
[0] => Array  
    (
            [0] => -_value1_-  
            [1] => -_value_2_-  
            [2] => -_value.3_-  
        )  
)

Answer 1

Use one of the following simple regexps /-.*?-/ or /-.*-/U

U (PCRE_UNGREEDY) This modifier inverts the “greediness” of the
quantifiers so that they are not greedy by default, but become greedy
if followed by ?. It is not compatible with Perl. It can also be set
by a (?U) modifier setting within the pattern or by a question mark
behind a quantifier (e.g. .*?).