Evaluate a funcyion with e modifier and preg replace

[php_fish]

I'm trying to get preg_replace to find a fucntion within a string and then evaluate it as php code but I can't get it to work; I can't find an answer to this on the net, I've tried for days. Here's some sample code;

 

function tester($var){

//return($var);

return $var;

}

$str = "tester('test string')";

$re = '/\(tester{1,1}[.]*\)/em';

$fnc_output = preg_replace($re,'$1',$str);

echo($fnc_output);

 

It's not evaluating the function. From my understanding and research it should work so I think I'm making a basic fundemental mistake somewhere (?)

[Potatis]

Yes a "fucntion" is a function that doesn't work.

 

I can't see your code is doing anything at all. What is $1?

 

Is there an example of a function you are trying to find and replace? Do you even want to replace it?  ???

[php_fish]

Yes a "fucntion" is a function that doesn't work.

 

I can't see your code is doing anything at all. What is $1?

 

Is there an example of a function you are trying to find and replace? Do you even want to replace it?  ???

 

A function is a function? What does that mean?

 

In theory the code should work but I'm overlooking something and I'd need to find out what that is. I've simplified the example given and would like to make that simplified example work.

[Potatis]

A function is a function? What does that mean?

 

I was having fun with your spelling mistake, and the pronunciation of the typo which could reflect how one might feel about a function that doesn't work.

[Adam]

Try this..

 

$str = "tester('test string')";

preg_match_all('/[a-zA-Z_][\w]+\([^\)]+\);/', $str, $matches);

print_r($matches);

 

You should be able to convert it to preg_replace if you need to, I just didn't understand what you were trying to do before...

[php_fish]

Try this..

 

$str = "tester('test string')";

preg_match_all('/[a-zA-Z_][\w]+\([^\)]+\);/', $str, $matches);

print_r($matches);

 

You should be able to convert it to preg_replace if you need to, I just didn't understand what you were trying to do before...

 

It doesn't do what I want it to. I want it to pick out a function in a string then to execute the function and assign the result to a variable.

[Adam]

Well you now have an array containing all of the functions captured. What have you tried so far?

[php_fish]

Well you now have an array containing all of the functions captured. What have you tried so far?

 

I need it to execute the functions in the string, eg a paragraph of text, replace functions with their output. I don't want to collect the functions then execute them, they have to be executed in situ so to speak

[sasa]

are you trying this

<?php
function tester($var){
      return $var;
   }
   $function = "tester";
   $re = $function('sasa');
   echo $re;
?>

[Ken2k7]

  $re = '/\(tester{1,1}[.]*\)/em';

Just out of curiosity, is {1,1} needed?

[php_fish]

are you trying this

<?php
function tester($var){
      return $var;
   }
   $function = "tester";
   $re = $function('sasa');
   echo $re;
?>

No

[php_fish]

  $re = '/\(tester{1,1}[.]*\)/em';

Just out of curiosity, is {1,1} needed?

 

No it's not needed, but it's not the regular expression I am trying to improve.

[Adam]

Could you give a realistic example of what the input would look like?

 

I was thinking something along the lines of this may work...

 

$str = "strtoupper('test string');";

$str = preg_replace('/([a-zA-Z_][\w]+\([^\)]+\);)/', "<?php $1 ?>", $str);

eval($str);

 

But that would require PHP functions without PHP tags around them, just in a string.

 

(Not tested!)

[Ken2k7]

Take out the <?php ?> in eval statement unless you want a parse error.

[php_fish]

Could you give a realistic example of what the input would look like?

 

I was thinking something along the lines of this may work...

 

$str = "strtoupper('test string');";

$str = preg_replace('/([a-zA-Z_][\w]+\([^\)]+\);)/', "<?php $1 ?>", $str);

eval($str);

 

But that would require PHP functions without PHP tags around them, just in a string.

 

(Not tested!)

 

An example of what the input may be;

 

$str = "This is a paragraph of text with tester('a string var') functions thrown in amongst it. In the anotherFnc('more str values') hope that this paragraph is returned and the functions interspersed amongst it are evaluted and replaced with their return values"

 

Adam, you will also need the 'e' modifier at the end of your regex

[thebadbad]

I perfectly understand what you're trying to do php_fish, and I got it kinda working:

 

<?php
function tester($var) {
return $var;
}
$str = "tester('test string')";
$fnc_output = preg_replace('~(tester)\(\'(.*?)\'\)~e', "$1('$2')", $str);
echo $fnc_output;
?>

 

Outputs test string. The problem is however, that I had to include the quotes in the pattern and replacement, else I got a whole bunch of errors about backslashes and quotes being illegal in some 'input'. Code (that I think should work, but doesn't):

 

<?php
function tester($var) {
return $var;
}
$str = "tester('test string')";
$fnc_output = preg_replace('~(tester\(.*?\))~e', '$1', $str);
echo $fnc_output;
?>

 

Errors:

Warning: Unexpected character in input: '\' (ASCII=92) state=1 in C:\XAMPP\htdocs\test\regex8.php(6) : regexp code on line 1

 

Warning: Unexpected character in input: ''' (ASCII=39) state=1 in C:\XAMPP\htdocs\test\regex8.php(6) : regexp code on line 1

 

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING in C:\XAMPP\htdocs\test\regex8.php(6) : regexp code on line 1

 

Fatal error: preg_replace() [<a href='function.preg-replace'>function.preg-replace</a>]: Failed evaluating code: tester(\'test string\') in C:\XAMPP\htdocs\test\regex8.php on line 6

 

Can anyone elaborate on the first two errors?

[thebadbad]

And php_fish, your pattern doesn't work because you're escaping the parenthesis that are supposed to capture the match and put it in $1.

 

Edit: To be honest, your whole pattern doesn't make sense.

[Ken2k7]

Do you have to use preg_replace?

preg_match_all('#((?<func>\w+)?\s?\([\'\"]?.*?[\'\"]?\))#', $str, $matches)

 

Something along that? You can then use function_exists on $matches['func']

[thebadbad]

Found an article explaining why my second function didn't work: http://www.procata.com/blog/archives/2005/11/13/two-preg_replace-escaping-gotchas/

[php_fish]

Found an article explaining why my second function didn't work: http://www.procata.com/blog/archives/2005/11/13/two-preg_replace-escaping-gotchas/

 

Thanks for your work on this. You have got it working but I need it to work without the brackets, so $1('$2') becomes $1$2. But it doesn't work that way for some reason. Just can't work out why.

 

[thebadbad]

You're probably best off using preg_replace_callback() or preg_match_all(), i.e. capture the function calls and then run them within a separate function, and return the replacement:

 

<?php
$str = "a b c tester('test string') d e f";
function tester($var) {
return $var;
}

function eval_function($matches) {
return eval("return {$matches[1]}({$matches[2]});");
}
echo preg_replace_callback('~([_a-z][_a-z0-9]*)\s?\(([\'"]?.*?[\'"]?)\)~is', 'eval_function', $str);
?>

 

Output:

a b c test string d e f