[SOLVED] Need to replace Spaces with Tabs

[eiledon01]

Sounds simple, and probably is.

 

I need to replace something like:

"test 1  sentence" with

"test 1[tab]sentence"

 

The number of spaces between columns varies from 3 to 9

 

I've tried

eregi_replace("\s{3,9}+","\t",$str)

with no luck; any ideas?

[nrg_alpha]

Use preg_replace instead, as ereg (POSIX) will be in the core of PHP6 by default. So futureproof your code now by learning preg.

As for the pattern, you almost got it..if you want to only replace 3 to 9 consecutive spaces, you can use something like:

 

$str = preg_replace('#\s{3,9}#', "\t", $str); // where $str represents your string in question

 

(You don't need the + quantifier after the {3,9} part).

 

EDIT - You can learn about regex from the following sources:

- weblogtoolscollection

- PHPfreak resources

- Book Mastering Regular Expressions

- Regular-expressions.info

[eiledon01]

working now, thanks 

[.josh]

Just to clarify what nrg said, + is a quantifier. It means 1 or more of something.  You don't need it because {3,9} is the quantifier, meaning 3 to 9 of something.

[nrg_alpha]

@OP: Sorry I didn't elaborate on the quantifier thing. Also note that when I said:

 

Use preg_replace instead, as ereg (POSIX) will be in the core of PHP6 by default.

 

What I should have said is:

"Use preg_replace instead (part of PCRE - Perl Compatible Regular Expressions), as ereg (POSIX) will NOT be in the core of PHP6."