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# explode

(PHP 3, PHP 4, PHP 5)

explode -- Split a string by string

## Description

array explode ( string delimiter, string string [, int limit] )

Returns an array of strings, each of which is a substring of `string` formed by splitting it on boundaries formed by the string `delimiter`. If `limit` is set, the returned array will contain a maximum of `limit` elements with the last element containing the rest of `string`.

If `delimiter` is an empty string (""), explode() will return `FALSE`. If `delimiter` contains a value that is not contained in `string`, then explode() will return an array containing `string`.

If the `limit` parameter is negative, all components except the last -`limit` are returned. This feature was added in PHP 5.1.0.

Although implode() can, for historical reasons, accept its parameters in either order, explode() cannot. You must ensure that the `delimiter` argument comes before the `string` argument.

> Note: The `limit` parameter was added in PHP 4.0.1

Example 1. explode() examples

`<?php // Example 1 $pizza = "piece1 piece2 piece3 piece4 piece5 piece6"; $pieces = explode(" ", $pizza); echo $pieces[0]; // piece1 echo $pieces[1]; // piece2 // Example 2 $data = "foo:*:1023:1000::/home/foo:/bin/sh"; list($user, $pass, $uid, $gid, $gecos, $home, $shell) = explode(":", $data); echo $user; // foo echo $pass; // * ?>`

Example 2. `limit` parameter examples

`<?php $str = 'one|two|three|four'; // positive limit print_r(explode('|', $str, 2)); // negative limit (since PHP 5.1) print_r(explode('|', $str, -1)); ?>`

The above example will output:

    Array
    (
        [0] => one
        [1] => two|three|four
    )
    Array
    (
        [0] => one
        [1] => two
        [2] => three
    )

> Note: This function is binary-safe.

See also preg_split(), str_split(), strtok(), and implode().

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