preg_split, how huh???

scoppc

I am trying to split up few sentences into individual sentence. Each of them will be stored in one array element.
I use preg_split.

My problem is I can't get the period or quotation mark or even exclamation mark at the end of each sentence. They are gone!

Below is my code:

<?php
.
.
.
$break = preg_split ("/[.\?!]+/", $input, -1, PREG_SPLIT_DELIM_CAPTURE);
.
.
.
?>

It is suppossed to split the input if any of the marks is found.
When I tried to combine and output them, the delimiters are not stored in any element of the array $break. So, I can't get them back after splitting them up.

Anybody can help me?

Thanks in advance.

scoppc

sfullman

Your code lacks a lot of basic principles.
A sentence in html could end like this.<BR>
or like this.</p>
Or generally, like this. (<--space character)
Or perhaps a tab.
So you need to cover all of those AFTER the punctuation so you don't breakup image.jpg or otherpage.htm or ../page.htm, etc. (hey there's another example -- etc!!!)

So EFFECTIVELY breaking up sentences using preg is MUCH more complex than you're getting at, but I hope I've opened your understanding to the scope.

I can't offer much direct help, there are some great articles out there, but if you want a great tester, go to my site at:

http://samuelfullman.com/team/php/tools/regular_expression_tester_p.php

Build you expression in the top text area, and refer to a page (anywhere on the web) that has sentences. If you get it right, you'll get a list (array) of all your sentences numbered below.

Sam Fullman
Compass Point Media
and you can rapidy build your expression and test it out. this can be a humbling experience.

scoppc

It's true that I do not have enough basic principles in matching all those stuffs but what I wanna match is just a normal sentence. It contains no HTML and no tags.

The application that I'm trying to develop is actually an online translator (my college final year project, actually), which is capable of translating French sentence to English. So, I need to separate user's input into several sentences.

My problem is I can't get the ending mark (period or exclamation or interrogation).