[RESOLVED] Specifying variable characteristics? LIKE?

[janet287]

Hi,

I am pretty new to PHP. I need to get PHP to recognize a particular variable for me based on certain characteristics of the variable. I have a variable that will be 10 characters. The first character will be a P and then 9 numeric numbers such as P12345678.

I need to get PHP to recognize the variable starts with P and has 9 numeric characters and if so, then it will call a specific function.

For example - the part I am stuck on is in the first line:

elseif($this->config->passtype === 'pc' and $username like P plus 9 numbers)
{
$extpassword = ($extpassword);

Does anyone know how to do this? It reminds me of the LIKE clause in SQL but I don't know if such a thing exists in PHP?

Thanks!

[NogDog]

elseif($this->config->passtype === 'pc' and preg_match('/^P\d{9}$/', $username)) {

[janet287]

Thanks so much!

[janet287]

Hi,

So it turns out the variable isn't always 9 characters, sometimes it is 7 and sometimes it is 8. Is there a way to tell it to look for X plus 7 or more numeric digits? I love how this stuff comes out after the fact with stuff like this!

Thanks, Janet

[NogDog]

You can change the {9} to a range, e.g. {7,9}.

[janet287]

That worked like a charm! Thanks for much for the quick response.