Search for PHP array element containing string?

In PHP, you can search for array elements containing a specific string using several methods. The most common approaches include preg_match() for pattern matching, array_filter() for functional filtering, and simple string functions like strpos().

Using preg_match() with foreach

The preg_match() function allows pattern−based searching with regular expressions ?

<?php
$subject = array('JavaScript', 'Java', 'PHP language', 'Python Language');
$valueToSearch = 'Language';
$result = array();

foreach($subject as $key => $value) {
    if(preg_match("/\b$valueToSearch\b/i", $value)) {
        $result[$key] = $value;
    }
}

print_r($result);
?>

Array
(
    [2] => PHP language
    [3] => Python Language
)

Using array_filter() with strpos()

A simpler approach using array_filter() for case−insensitive substring matching ?

<?php
$subject = array('JavaScript', 'Java', 'PHP language', 'Python Language');
$valueToSearch = 'Language';

$result = array_filter($subject, function($item) use ($valueToSearch) {
    return stripos($item, $valueToSearch) !== false;
});

print_r($result);
?>

Array
(
    [2] => PHP language
    [3] => Python Language
)

Using array_filter() with preg_match()

Combining array_filter() with preg_match() for more concise code ?

<?php
$subject = array('JavaScript', 'Java', 'PHP language', 'Python Language');
$valueToSearch = 'Language';

$result = array_filter($subject, function($item) use ($valueToSearch) {
    return preg_match("/\b$valueToSearch\b/i", $item);
});

print_r(array_values($result)); // Re-index the array
?>

Array
(
    [0] => PHP language
    [1] => Python Language
)

Comparison

Conclusion

Use preg_match() for complex pattern matching and stripos() for simple case−insensitive substring searches. The array_filter() approach provides cleaner, more functional code compared to manual loops.