What is the difference between split() and explode()?

Question

The PHP manual for split() says

This function has been DEPRECATED as of PHP 5.3.0. Relying on this feature is highly discouraged...Use explode() instead.

But I can't find a difference between split() and explode(). join() hasn't been deprecated, so what gives?

Answer 1

split uses regex, while explode uses a fixed string. If you do need regex, use preg_split, which uses PCRE (the regex package now preferred across the PHP standard library).

Answer 2

It's been deprecated because

• explode() is substantially faster because it doesn't split based on a regular expression, so the string doesn't have to be analyzed by the regex parser
• preg_split() is faster and uses PCRE regular expressions for regex splits

join() and implode() are aliases of each other and therefore don't have any differences.

Answer 3

In split() you can use regular expressions to split a string. Whereas explode() splits a string with a string. preg_split is a much faster alternative, should you need regular expressions.

Answer 4

Both the functions are used to Split a string.

However, Split is used to split a string using a regular expression.

On the other hand, Explode is used to split a string using another string.

E.g explode (" this", "this is a string"); will return “Is a string”

E.g Split (" + ", "This+ is a string");