Hi folks! Current code only replace the spaces to dash (-)
$url = str_replace(' ','-',$url);
I want only letters, numbers and dash (-) allowed on the URL.
Let me know the tricks.
A:
Is there a reason you only want a subset of what's allowed in a URL?
Have you thought about just using urlencode()?
acrosman
2009-05-15 11:37:45
+2
A:
Your code is replacing all spaces with a dash, have a look at the documentation of str_replace().
I would use a regular expression for the actual task:
preg_replace('/[^a-z0-9-]/i', '', $url);
soulmerge
2009-05-15 11:37:48
Doesn't the dash '-' need escaping, ie, '\-' ?
karim79
2009-05-15 11:40:18
yeah that I wanted.. but how to keep the spaces to dash? example on url http://domain.com/how about younow the preg_replace('/[^a-z0-9-]/i', '', $url); will made the link to be http://domain.com/howaboutyouI need it to be http://domain.com/how-about-youLet me know :)
bob
2009-05-15 11:43:32
@bob - see the function i posted below.
benlumley
2009-05-15 11:47:31
No, you don't need to escape the dash if it is the first or the last character in brackets
soulmerge
2009-05-15 12:12:09
+2
A:
Do you want this for generating slug?
Then you can do something like this:
$slugified = preg_replace('/[^-a-z0-9]+/i', '-', strtolower(trim($url)));
It will strip leading and trailing whitespace first, convert the string to lowercase, then replace all non-word characters (not a-z, 0-9 or -) with a single -
A Beautiful *# Day will become a-beautiful-day
Remove strtolower() if you don't mind uppercase letters in the slug.
Imran
2009-05-15 11:43:46
I replaced [^\w] with [^-a-z0-9], as the previous would also allow _ along with a-z, 0-9 and -
Imran
2009-05-15 11:53:55
how about only allowed the dash if has a word before and after? now it's allowed /-beautiful and /beautiful-
bob
2009-05-15 12:01:16
Nice one-liner! However this doesn't account for special UTF-8 characters such as é, è, á etc. To enable this, you'll need iconv, or a more advanced script like http://stackoverflow.com/questions/868163/strreplace/868275#868275
Mathias Bynens
2009-05-15 12:07:17
@bob: the easiest solution would be to use trim() to strip leading and trailing - from $slugified
Imran
2009-05-16 04:29:54
The best answer is the one posted by Mathias Bynens. This will not work with accents and other special characters.
Keyne
2010-05-18 17:42:15
A:
Sounds like you want to generate "slugs" for use in urls?
EG:
lala.com/user/12/user-name
You want to generate the user-name bit from something like "Ben Lumley" ?
I've been using this:
static public function slugify($text)
{
// replace non letter or digits by -
$text = preg_replace('~[^\\pL\d]+~u', '-', $text);
// trim
$text = trim($text, '-');
// transliterate
$text = iconv('utf-8', 'us-ascii//TRANSLIT', $text);
// lowercase
$text = strtolower($text);
// remove unwanted characters
$text = preg_replace('~[^-\w]+~', '', $text);
if (empty($text))
{
return 'n-a';
}
return $text;
}
Its from the symfony jobeet tutorial - but its just php.
http://www.symfony-project.org/jobeet/1_2/Propel/en/
Here's the unit tests that go with it, they show what it converts:
$t->is(Jobeet::slugify('Sensio'), 'sensio', '::slugify() converts all characters to lower case');
$t->is(Jobeet::slugify('sensio labs'), 'sensio-labs', '::slugify() replaces a white space by a -');
$t->is(Jobeet::slugify('sensio labs'), 'sensio-labs', '::slugify() replaces several white spaces by a single -');
$t->is(Jobeet::slugify(' sensio'), 'sensio', '::slugify() removes - at the beginning of a string');
$t->is(Jobeet::slugify('sensio '), 'sensio', '::slugify() removes - at the end of a string');
$t->is(Jobeet::slugify('paris,france'), 'paris-france', '::slugify() replaces non-ASCII characters by a -');
benlumley
2009-05-15 11:44:23
+2
A:
To generate slugs from any string (including strings with crazy UTF-8 characters), I use the following (taken from the WordPress source code). I realise it requires a little more code than the other answers posted here, but this is by far the most robust and complete solution to generating slugs automatically.
First, we need a remove_accents() function to convert all accent characters to ASCII characters, e.g. turn á into a.
/**
* Converts all accent characters to ASCII characters.
*
* If there are no accent characters, then the string given is just returned.
*
* @param string $string Text that might have accent characters
* @return string Filtered string with replaced "nice" characters.
*/
function remove_accents($string) {
if (!preg_match('/[\x80-\xff]/', $string))
return $string;
if (seems_utf8($string)) {
$chars = array(
// Decompositions for Latin-1 Supplement
chr(195).chr(128) => 'A', chr(195).chr(129) => 'A',
chr(195).chr(130) => 'A', chr(195).chr(131) => 'A',
chr(195).chr(132) => 'A', chr(195).chr(133) => 'A',
chr(195).chr(135) => 'C', chr(195).chr(136) => 'E',
chr(195).chr(137) => 'E', chr(195).chr(138) => 'E',
chr(195).chr(139) => 'E', chr(195).chr(140) => 'I',
chr(195).chr(141) => 'I', chr(195).chr(142) => 'I',
chr(195).chr(143) => 'I', chr(195).chr(145) => 'N',
chr(195).chr(146) => 'O', chr(195).chr(147) => 'O',
chr(195).chr(148) => 'O', chr(195).chr(149) => 'O',
chr(195).chr(150) => 'O', chr(195).chr(153) => 'U',
chr(195).chr(154) => 'U', chr(195).chr(155) => 'U',
chr(195).chr(156) => 'U', chr(195).chr(157) => 'Y',
chr(195).chr(159) => 's', chr(195).chr(160) => 'a',
chr(195).chr(161) => 'a', chr(195).chr(162) => 'a',
chr(195).chr(163) => 'a', chr(195).chr(164) => 'a',
chr(195).chr(165) => 'a', chr(195).chr(167) => 'c',
chr(195).chr(168) => 'e', chr(195).chr(169) => 'e',
chr(195).chr(170) => 'e', chr(195).chr(171) => 'e',
chr(195).chr(172) => 'i', chr(195).chr(173) => 'i',
chr(195).chr(174) => 'i', chr(195).chr(175) => 'i',
chr(195).chr(177) => 'n', chr(195).chr(178) => 'o',
chr(195).chr(179) => 'o', chr(195).chr(180) => 'o',
chr(195).chr(181) => 'o', chr(195).chr(182) => 'o',
chr(195).chr(182) => 'o', chr(195).chr(185) => 'u',
chr(195).chr(186) => 'u', chr(195).chr(187) => 'u',
chr(195).chr(188) => 'u', chr(195).chr(189) => 'y',
chr(195).chr(191) => 'y',
// Decompositions for Latin Extended-A
chr(196).chr(128) => 'A', chr(196).chr(129) => 'a',
chr(196).chr(130) => 'A', chr(196).chr(131) => 'a',
chr(196).chr(132) => 'A', chr(196).chr(133) => 'a',
chr(196).chr(134) => 'C', chr(196).chr(135) => 'c',
chr(196).chr(136) => 'C', chr(196).chr(137) => 'c',
chr(196).chr(138) => 'C', chr(196).chr(139) => 'c',
chr(196).chr(140) => 'C', chr(196).chr(141) => 'c',
chr(196).chr(142) => 'D', chr(196).chr(143) => 'd',
chr(196).chr(144) => 'D', chr(196).chr(145) => 'd',
chr(196).chr(146) => 'E', chr(196).chr(147) => 'e',
chr(196).chr(148) => 'E', chr(196).chr(149) => 'e',
chr(196).chr(150) => 'E', chr(196).chr(151) => 'e',
chr(196).chr(152) => 'E', chr(196).chr(153) => 'e',
chr(196).chr(154) => 'E', chr(196).chr(155) => 'e',
chr(196).chr(156) => 'G', chr(196).chr(157) => 'g',
chr(196).chr(158) => 'G', chr(196).chr(159) => 'g',
chr(196).chr(160) => 'G', chr(196).chr(161) => 'g',
chr(196).chr(162) => 'G', chr(196).chr(163) => 'g',
chr(196).chr(164) => 'H', chr(196).chr(165) => 'h',
chr(196).chr(166) => 'H', chr(196).chr(167) => 'h',
chr(196).chr(168) => 'I', chr(196).chr(169) => 'i',
chr(196).chr(170) => 'I', chr(196).chr(171) => 'i',
chr(196).chr(172) => 'I', chr(196).chr(173) => 'i',
chr(196).chr(174) => 'I', chr(196).chr(175) => 'i',
chr(196).chr(176) => 'I', chr(196).chr(177) => 'i',
chr(196).chr(178) => 'IJ',chr(196).chr(179) => 'ij',
chr(196).chr(180) => 'J', chr(196).chr(181) => 'j',
chr(196).chr(182) => 'K', chr(196).chr(183) => 'k',
chr(196).chr(184) => 'k', chr(196).chr(185) => 'L',
chr(196).chr(186) => 'l', chr(196).chr(187) => 'L',
chr(196).chr(188) => 'l', chr(196).chr(189) => 'L',
chr(196).chr(190) => 'l', chr(196).chr(191) => 'L',
chr(197).chr(128) => 'l', chr(197).chr(129) => 'L',
chr(197).chr(130) => 'l', chr(197).chr(131) => 'N',
chr(197).chr(132) => 'n', chr(197).chr(133) => 'N',
chr(197).chr(134) => 'n', chr(197).chr(135) => 'N',
chr(197).chr(136) => 'n', chr(197).chr(137) => 'N',
chr(197).chr(138) => 'n', chr(197).chr(139) => 'N',
chr(197).chr(140) => 'O', chr(197).chr(141) => 'o',
chr(197).chr(142) => 'O', chr(197).chr(143) => 'o',
chr(197).chr(144) => 'O', chr(197).chr(145) => 'o',
chr(197).chr(146) => 'OE',chr(197).chr(147) => 'oe',
chr(197).chr(148) => 'R',chr(197).chr(149) => 'r',
chr(197).chr(150) => 'R',chr(197).chr(151) => 'r',
chr(197).chr(152) => 'R',chr(197).chr(153) => 'r',
chr(197).chr(154) => 'S',chr(197).chr(155) => 's',
chr(197).chr(156) => 'S',chr(197).chr(157) => 's',
chr(197).chr(158) => 'S',chr(197).chr(159) => 's',
chr(197).chr(160) => 'S', chr(197).chr(161) => 's',
chr(197).chr(162) => 'T', chr(197).chr(163) => 't',
chr(197).chr(164) => 'T', chr(197).chr(165) => 't',
chr(197).chr(166) => 'T', chr(197).chr(167) => 't',
chr(197).chr(168) => 'U', chr(197).chr(169) => 'u',
chr(197).chr(170) => 'U', chr(197).chr(171) => 'u',
chr(197).chr(172) => 'U', chr(197).chr(173) => 'u',
chr(197).chr(174) => 'U', chr(197).chr(175) => 'u',
chr(197).chr(176) => 'U', chr(197).chr(177) => 'u',
chr(197).chr(178) => 'U', chr(197).chr(179) => 'u',
chr(197).chr(180) => 'W', chr(197).chr(181) => 'w',
chr(197).chr(182) => 'Y', chr(197).chr(183) => 'y',
chr(197).chr(184) => 'Y', chr(197).chr(185) => 'Z',
chr(197).chr(186) => 'z', chr(197).chr(187) => 'Z',
chr(197).chr(188) => 'z', chr(197).chr(189) => 'Z',
chr(197).chr(190) => 'z', chr(197).chr(191) => 's',
// Euro Sign
chr(226).chr(130).chr(172) => 'E',
// GBP (Pound) Sign
chr(194).chr(163) => '');
$string = strtr($string, $chars);
} else {
// Assume ISO-8859-1 if not UTF-8
$chars['in'] = chr(128).chr(131).chr(138).chr(142).chr(154).chr(158)
.chr(159).chr(162).chr(165).chr(181).chr(192).chr(193).chr(194)
.chr(195).chr(196).chr(197).chr(199).chr(200).chr(201).chr(202)
.chr(203).chr(204).chr(205).chr(206).chr(207).chr(209).chr(210)
.chr(211).chr(212).chr(213).chr(214).chr(216).chr(217).chr(218)
.chr(219).chr(220).chr(221).chr(224).chr(225).chr(226).chr(227)
.chr(228).chr(229).chr(231).chr(232).chr(233).chr(234).chr(235)
.chr(236).chr(237).chr(238).chr(239).chr(241).chr(242).chr(243)
.chr(244).chr(245).chr(246).chr(248).chr(249).chr(250).chr(251)
.chr(252).chr(253).chr(255);
$chars['out'] = "EfSZszYcYuAAAAAACEEEEIIIINOOOOOOUUUUYaaaaaaceeeeiiiinoooooouuuuyy";
$string = strtr($string, $chars['in'], $chars['out']);
$double_chars['in'] = array(chr(140), chr(156), chr(198), chr(208), chr(222), chr(223), chr(230), chr(240), chr(254));
$double_chars['out'] = array('OE', 'oe', 'AE', 'DH', 'TH', 'ss', 'ae', 'dh', 'th');
$string = str_replace($double_chars['in'], $double_chars['out'], $string);
}
return $string;
}
The following function, seems_utf8(), will check if a string is UTF-8 encoded.
/**
* Checks to see if a string is utf8 encoded.
*
* @author bmorel at ssi dot fr
*
* @param string $Str The string to be checked
* @return bool True if $Str fits a UTF-8 model, false otherwise.
*/
function seems_utf8($Str) { # by bmorel at ssi dot fr
$length = strlen($Str);
for ($i = 0; $i < $length; $i++) {
if (ord($Str[$i]) < 0x80) continue; # 0bbbbbbb
elseif ((ord($Str[$i]) & 0xE0) == 0xC0) $n = 1; # 110bbbbb
elseif ((ord($Str[$i]) & 0xF0) == 0xE0) $n = 2; # 1110bbbb
elseif ((ord($Str[$i]) & 0xF8) == 0xF0) $n = 3; # 11110bbb
elseif ((ord($Str[$i]) & 0xFC) == 0xF8) $n = 4; # 111110bb
elseif ((ord($Str[$i]) & 0xFE) == 0xFC) $n = 5; # 1111110b
else return false; # Does not match any model
for ($j = 0; $j < $n; $j++) { # n bytes matching 10bbbbbb follow ?
if ((++$i == $length) || ((ord($Str[$i]) & 0xC0) != 0x80))
return false;
}
}
return true;
}
The utf8_uri_encode() function encodes the Unicode values to be used in the slug.
/**
* Encode the Unicode values to be used in the URI.
*
* @param string $utf8_string
* @param int $length Max length of the string
* @return string String with Unicode encoded for URI.
*/
function utf8_uri_encode($utf8_string, $length = 0) {
$unicode = '';
$values = array();
$num_octets = 1;
$unicode_length = 0;
$string_length = strlen($utf8_string);
for ($i = 0; $i < $string_length; $i++) {
$value = ord($utf8_string[$i]);
if ($value < 128) {
if ($length && ($unicode_length >= $length))
break;
$unicode .= chr($value);
$unicode_length++;
} else {
if (count($values) == 0) $num_octets = ($value < 224) ? 2 : 3;
$values[] = $value;
if ($length && ($unicode_length + ($num_octets * 3)) > $length)
break;
if (count( $values ) == $num_octets) {
if ($num_octets == 3) {
$unicode .= '%' . dechex($values[0]) . '%' . dechex($values[1]) . '%' . dechex($values[2]);
$unicode_length += 9;
} else {
$unicode .= '%' . dechex($values[0]) . '%' . dechex($values[1]);
$unicode_length += 6;
}
$values = array();
$num_octets = 1;
}
}
}
return $unicode;
}
Finally, we can declare the slug() function, which will generate a slug from any UTF-8 string:
/**
* Sanitizes title, replacing whitespace with dashes.
*
* Limits the output to alphanumeric characters, underscore (_) and dash (-).
* Whitespace becomes a dash.
*
* @param string $title The title to be sanitized.
* @return string The sanitized title.
*/
function slug($title) {
$title = strip_tags($title);
// Preserve escaped octets.
$title = preg_replace('|%([a-fA-F0-9][a-fA-F0-9])|', '---$1---', $title);
// Remove percent signs that are not part of an octet.
$title = str_replace('%', '', $title);
// Restore octets.
$title = preg_replace('|---([a-fA-F0-9][a-fA-F0-9])---|', '%$1', $title);
$title = remove_accents($title);
if (seems_utf8($title)) {
if (function_exists('mb_strtolower')) {
$title = mb_strtolower($title, 'UTF-8');
}
$title = utf8_uri_encode($title, 200);
}
$title = strtolower($title);
$title = preg_replace('/&.+?;/', '', $title); // kill entities
$title = preg_replace('/[^%a-z0-9 _-]/', '', $title);
$title = preg_replace('/\s+/', '-', $title);
$title = preg_replace('|-+|', '-', $title);
$title = trim($title, '-');
return $title;
}
After this, you can simply use the slug() function to sluggify anything.
<?php
// The following line of code would echo 'internationalization-is-awesome'
echo slug('Iñtërnâtiônàlizætiøn is awesome');
?>
Mathias Bynens
2009-05-15 12:03:08