[RESOLVED] inserting spaces into a line of text

balloontrader

Is there a way to insert a space every 3 characters (or any given number) in a line of text?

I am getting data from the NWS site and if their data is a 2 digit number there is a space between it and the next data...

but if the number is a 3 digit number, the first digit takes up the place that was a space... like the example below.

TMP  64 69 80 89 93 87 78 70 65 71 84 94 98 92 82 74 69 75 [COLOR=DarkRed]89103[/COLOR] 85

I need to find a way to get it to look like this by I am assuming adding a space every 3 characters

TMP   64  69  80  89  93  87  78  70  65  71  84  94  98  92  82  74  69  75  [COLOR=DarkRed]89 103[/COLOR]  85

I think that php is reading the run together numbers as one 5 digit number because there is no space between them.

If i could as a rule just count over 3 (or whatever) and insert a space it would not matter if the entire line contained 3 digit numbers.

Houdini

How are you getting the line of text to begin with. It appears that it is actually several variables tacked together, is it coming from a site somewhere else?

balloontrader

Its actually a line of text.

I am getting the data like this...

<?php 
$url = 'http://www.thesite.com'; 
$handle = fopen($url, "r"); $contents = file_get_contents($url);   

fclose($handle);   

$hrs_pattern = "/HR[  ]*([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,})/";   

$tmp_pattern = "/TMP[ ]*([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,})/";   

$dew_pattern = "/DPT[ ]*([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,})/";   

$wdr_pattern = "/WDR[ ]*([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,})/";   

$wsp_pattern = "/WSP[ ]*([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,}) ([0-9]{2,})/";   

preg_match($hrs_pattern, $contents, $hours); 
preg_match($tmp_pattern, $contents, $temps); 
preg_match($dew_pattern, $contents, $dews); 
preg_match($wdr_pattern, $contents, $wdirs); 
preg_match($wsp_pattern, $contents, $wspds);

The site allows data gathering.

if the temps are less than 100 everthing works fine... but one number over 99 and my charts go whacky.

Installer

Try this:

$arr = explode(' ', $str);
$new_str = '';
foreach ($arr as $key => $val) {
    if (strlen($val) > 3) {
        $new_str .= ' ' . substr($val, 0, 2);
        for ($i = 2; $i < (strlen($val) - 1); $i += 3) {
            $new_str .= ' ' . substr($val, $i, 3);
        }
    } else {
        $new_str .= ' ' . $val;
    }
}
$new_str = trim($new_str);

This assumes that you won't have any one-digit temperatures in the same line with three-digit ones. I don't know what will happen with, say, one- and two-digit temperatures with minus signs. And no, inserting a space every three characters won't work.

Edit: I omitted the "explode()" line when pasting the code; now added.

balloontrader

I've got it....

this is how I did it... I am sure there is a simpler way to code it...but this was my solution

$contents = explode("\n", $contents);
$tmps=$contents[9];
$tmps1=strstr($tmps, 'TMP');
$tmps1=substr($tmps1,4,3);
$tmps2=strstr($tmps, 'TMP');
$tmps2=substr($tmps2,7,3);
$tmps3=strstr($tmps, 'TMP');
$tmps3=substr($tmps3,10,3);
$tmps4=strstr($tmps, 'TMP');
$tmps4=substr($tmps4,13,3);
$tmps5=strstr($tmps, 'TMP');
$tmps5=substr($tmps5,16,3);

Repeating through the text line for 21 variables.
should work with single digits, double digits ,triple digits, and negitive numbers I think...

I am sure theres a way to loop it to cut down on coding time and size of the file though.

Installer

Good job. That's a much better way of doing it than mine.

But I think you'll realize, as you do more coding, that handling lists of variables by appending numbers to their names is not a good way to go about it (and you originally said you wanted a string). You should put things into arrays instead to make things easier.

$start_pos = 4;
while (($tmp = substr($str, $start_pos, 3)) !== false) {
    $tmps_arr[] = $tmp;
    $start_pos += 3;
}

BTW, you don't need to use "fopen()" and "fclose()" with "file_get_contents()".