I am using the following line to correct a string:
$dbname =preg_replace("/[^A-Za-z0-9 _-]/", '', $dbArr[0]);
However I have a few names with &!().
At the moment these special characters are removed from the string.
I would like to at least add &!() but if possible ()&*<>! to the above pattern,
but I get errors when I add them.
Can someone help me how to add these special characters ?
Some of the characters have meaning in the preg/regex syntax and need to be escaped when used inside a pattern.
Thanks PHDR and CHORN, I still don’t understand this regex pattern idea very much, but your answers helped me figure out how to solve my problem.
I just added / before every special character I wanted in my original patern.
The special characters are now not removed anymore.
Old line:
$dbname =preg_replace("/[^A-Za-z0-9 _-]/", '', $dbArr[0]);
New line:
$dbname =preg_replace("/[^A-Za-z0-9 _-]\&\(\)\*\!/", '', $dbArr[0]);
==> &()*! <== was added to the old line.
What exactly does this mean and why is the string “incorrect” in the first place?
@bananamen
I am importing names from a CSV to a SQLite table.
I noticed several time, this didn’t work because there was only one or to much " or ’ .
So I managed to correct that with the above Regex function,
however these introduced the problem all characters other than a…z, A…Z, 0…9, space and _- was being ditched.
The names are for a phonebook, and e.g. Richard Chamberlain (Mobile) was being converted to: Richard rd Chamberlain Mobile (<== without the brackets).
PM me a sample of the CSV file with good and bad records