confusing parse error in preg

Shai-Hulud

ok, I'll try to be as basic as possible, this is the code

in thefile.php

$date='24-01-2010-08:00';
preg_replace("/([0-3][0-9])\-([0-1][0-9])\-20([0-9][0-9])\-([0-2][0-8]):([0-6][0-9])/e","$dates=array(0=>$1,1=>$2,2=>$3,3=>$4,4=>$5)",$date);

and this is the error:

Parse error: parse error, unexpected '=', expecting '(' in thefile.php(1) : regexp code on line 1

Fatal error: preg_replace() [function.preg-replace]: Failed evaluating code: Array=array(0=>24,1=>01,2=>10,3=>08,4=>00) in thefile.php on line 1

I have no idea what could be wrong here, if I comment the preg line out it gives no error, and the array php is allso file when it is not inside the preg...

anyone know what I do wrong here? 🙂

halojoy

regarding
$dates
your script should look something like this

<?php
error_reporting(E_ALL);

$date= '24-01-2010-08:00'; 
$dates=array( "1", "2", "3", "4", "5" ); // makes $dates[0]="1" and so on

echo "input= $date<br>";

preg_replace( "/([0-3][0-9])\-([0-1][0-9])\-20([0-9][0-9])\-([0-2][0-8]):([0-6][0-9])/e", $dates, $date );

echo "outpt= $date<br>";

?>

This gives following:
input= 24-01-2010-08:00

Warning: preg_replace() Parameter mismatch, pattern is a string while replacement in an array.
outpt= 24-01-2010-08:00

I know not much of preg_replace
but think it is better you tell them here
what you want your script to do
1. input string, '24-01--2010-08-08:00'
2. output string, the result you want

I guess you want to update to next day
2005-09-29 becomes 2005-09-30 becomes 2005-10-01
there are easier ways to add 24 hours to a date, than using preg_replace

Regards
/halojoy

Shai-Hulud

actually the eventual goal is to see if de $date string is in the correct format (dd-mm-yyyy-hh:mm) and if it is put in an array so that I can put it through checking to see if the given date is a correct date (for example month 13 does not exist) and if it is, then make a unixtimestamp out of it. I have not added this code becouse it all works, only the check to see if its in valid format and putting it in an array does not work...

thanks for your respons 🙂, but the problem is still unsolved :S

regards,

Sm0_ck (eh Shai-Hulud :s)

halojoy

but think it is better you tell them here
what you want your script to do
1. input string, '24-01--2010-08-08:00'
2. output string, the result you want

Still maybe not clear what you want.
so why dont you tell me ...

Shai-Hulud

sorry :S, let me try again

input: "24-01-2010-08:00"
output: $date=array(0=>24,1=>1,2=>2010,3=>8,4=>0) // but this only must be done when the format is correct, thats why i use preg

this ok? 🙂

Weedpacket

You want your replacement string to be in single quotes, otherwise PHP replaces $dates with its value before preg_replace() gets a chance to work on it.

Shai-Hulud

ok, I have now partually solved the problem...

the following actually code works...

thefile.php

$date='24-01-2006-08:00';	preg_replace("/([0-3][0-9])\-([0-1][0-9])\-(20[0-9][0-9])\-([0-2][0-8]):([0-6][0-9])/e",'$dates=array($1,$2,$3,$4,$5)',$date);

but it gives me this error or notice so to speek:

Notice: Array to string conversion in thefile.php on line 2

the wierd thing is I dont see an array to string conversion here :S

anyone can see what I can't? :S

Weedpacket

Because the result of evaluating the replacement string is used to replace the matched text. In this case, the replacement string is an assignment operation, and the result of an assignment operation is whatever was stored in the variable on the left. (That's so that you can do $a = $b = $c; ). This assignment operation is returning an array (the same one that you're storing in $dates), and preg_replace is replacing the matched text with the array.

Which is why [man]preg_match[/man] takes an extra argument.

$date='24-01-2006-08:00';
preg_match("/([0-3][0-9])\-([0-1][0-9])\-(20[0-9][0-9])\-([0-2][0-8]):([0-6][0-9])/", $date, $dates);
array_shift($dates); // Because you won't want $dates[0] (do print_r() instead of array_shift() and see why)

Incidentally, did you really mean [0-8]?

Shai-Hulud

thanks for your reply, I dont fully understand it yet but thanks 🙂.

btw [0-8] is supposed to be [0-9] :S litlle mistake :S

Weedpacket

Well the short answer is that there is an array-to-string conversion going on: the result of evaluating the code in the replacement string has to be converted to a string so that it can replace the text matched by the pattern.