revDAVE wrote:
> Newbie - is there a function similar to the sql 'like' comparison operator?
>
> I would like to be able to compare 2 strings:
>
> If $this ---*like or similar to*--- $that
>
> That type of thing...
>
>
> I know of this page:
>
> http://us3.php.net/manual/sl/languag...comparison.php
>
>
> But I don't see something 'like' or 'similar' to something else
>
>
> --
> Thanks - RevDave
> Cool @ hosting4days . com
> [db-lists]
>
>
>
Probably the most similar that allows some wildcards (pattern matching)
is ereg(). You have more power in that you can control what must match
and how much.

In MySQL 'a' = ' a ' is true but 'a' LIKE ' a ' is false. So you need
to use the wildcard % to match anything ' xxaxx ' LIKE '%a%' is true or
_ to match one character ' a ' LIKE '_a_' is true.

The problem with similar_text() is that it gives you a percentage of
similarity which may be misleading unless you also figure in the return
of how many chars match. For example similar_text('CAT', 'CA', &$p) $p
would be 66.6%, is that like or not?

-Shawn