Question

When running this PHP code:

// test value
$value = "123456-7890";

// remove blank spaces and explode
$value = str_replace(' ', '', $value);
$value = explode('-', $value);

// check number of digits depending on format
if ((count($value) == 1 && strlen($value[0]) != 10) || (strlen($value[0]) != 6 || strlen($value[1]) != 4))
{
    echo "wrong number of digits!";
}

I get the following error:

PHP Fatal error:  Call to undefined function  () in /Users/Rikard/Desktop/test.php on line 10

As far as I can tell the problem arises in this part: strlen($value[0]) != 10 but I cannot see why it appears, any thoughts?

Answer 1

You see this:

if ((count($value) == 1 && strlen($value[0]) != 10) || (strlen($value[0]) != 6 || strlen($value[1]) != 4))

PHP sees this (• means non-breaking space):

if ((count($value) == 1 && strlen($value[0]) != 10) ||•(strlen($value[0]) != 6 || strlen($value[1]) != 4))

It always happens to me when I innocently try to copy some code from Mac/Safari. BTW, I tried to “edit” your question, and copied code from there for further examination.

PHP interprets the non-breaking space as a valid function name, and tries to execute it:

•(strlen($value[0])