Tutorials References Menu

PHP Tutorial

PHP HOME PHP Intro PHP Install PHP Syntax PHP Comments PHP Variables PHP Echo / Print PHP Data Types PHP Strings PHP Numbers PHP Math PHP Constants PHP Operators PHP If...Else...Elseif PHP Switch PHP Loops PHP Functions PHP Arrays PHP Superglobals PHP RegEx

PHP Forms

PHP Form Handling PHP Form Validation PHP Form Required PHP Form URL/E-mail PHP Form Complete

PHP Advanced

PHP Date and Time PHP Include PHP File Handling PHP File Open/Read PHP File Create/Write PHP File Upload PHP Cookies PHP Sessions PHP Filters PHP Filters Advanced PHP Callback Functions PHP JSON PHP Exceptions

PHP OOP

PHP What is OOP PHP Classes/Objects PHP Constructor PHP Destructor PHP Access Modifiers PHP Inheritance PHP Constants PHP Abstract Classes PHP Interfaces PHP Traits PHP Static Methods PHP Static Properties PHP Namespaces PHP Iterables

MySQL Database

MySQL Database MySQL Connect MySQL Create DB MySQL Create Table MySQL Insert Data MySQL Get Last ID MySQL Insert Multiple MySQL Prepared MySQL Select Data MySQL Where MySQL Order By MySQL Delete Data MySQL Update Data MySQL Limit Data

PHP XML

PHP XML Parsers PHP SimpleXML Parser PHP SimpleXML - Get PHP XML Expat PHP XML DOM

PHP - AJAX

AJAX Intro AJAX PHP AJAX Database AJAX XML AJAX Live Search AJAX Poll

PHP Examples

PHP Examples PHP Compiler

PHP Reference

PHP Overview PHP Array PHP Calendar PHP Date PHP Directory PHP Error PHP Exception PHP Filesystem PHP Filter PHP FTP PHP JSON PHP Keywords PHP Libxml PHP Mail PHP Math PHP Misc PHP MySQLi PHP Network PHP Output Control PHP RegEx PHP SimpleXML PHP Stream PHP String PHP Variable Handling PHP XML Parser PHP Zip PHP Timezones

PHP substr_compare() Function

❮ PHP String Reference

Example

Compare two strings:

<?php
echo substr_compare("Hello world","Hello world",0);
?>
Try it Yourself »

Definition and Usage

The substr_compare() function compares two strings from a specified start position.

Tip: This function is binary-safe and optionally case-sensitive.


Syntax

substr_compare(string1,string2,startpos,length,case)

Parameter Values

Parameter Description
string1 Required. Specifies the first string to compare
string2 Required. Specifies the second string to compare
startpos Required. Specifies where to start comparing in string1. If negative, it starts counting from the end of the string
length Optional. Specifies how much of string1 to compare
case Optional. A boolean value that specifies whether or not to perform a case-sensitive compare:
  • FALSE - Default. Case-sensitive
  • TRUE - Case-insensitive


Technical Details

Return Value: This function returns:
  • 0 - if the two strings are equal
  • <0 - if string1 (from startpos) is less than string2
  • >0 - if string1 (from startpos) is greater than string2
If length is equal or greater than length of string1, this function returns FALSE.
PHP Version: 5+
Changelog: As of PHP 5.5.11 - The length parameter can be 0.
As of PHP 5.1, it is now possible to use a negative startpos.

More Examples

Example

Compare two strings, when start position in string1 for the comparison is 6th:

<?php
echo substr_compare("Hello world","world",6);
?>
Try it Yourself »

Example

Using all parameters:

<?php
echo substr_compare("world","or",1,2);
echo substr_compare("world","ld",-2,2);
echo substr_compare("world","orl",1,2);
echo substr_compare("world","OR",1,2,TRUE);
echo substr_compare("world","or",1,3);
echo substr_compare("world","rl",1,2);
?>
Try it Yourself »

Example

Different return values:

<?php
echo substr_compare("Hello world!","Hello world!",0); // the two strings are equal
echo substr_compare("Hello world!","Hello",0); // string1 is greater than string2
echo substr_compare("Hello world!","Hello world! Hello!",0); // str1 is less than str2
?>
Try it Yourself »

❮ PHP String Reference