php-regexHow to use PHP regex to match UUID?

A UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) is a 128-bit number used to identify information in computer systems. To match a UUID with a regular expression in PHP, you can use the following code:

$uuid = '123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000';

if (preg_match('/^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{12}$/', $uuid)) {
    echo 'Valid UUID';
} else {
    echo 'Invalid UUID';
}

Output example

Valid UUID

The code consists of the following parts:

1. $uuid = '123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000'; - This is the UUID that we are trying to match.

2. preg_match('/^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{12}$/', $uuid) - This is the regular expression used to match the UUID. It consists of five parts, each of which is enclosed in square brackets and followed by a number in curly braces. The first part matches any 8 hexadecimal digits, the second part matches any 4 hexadecimal digits, the third part matches any 4 hexadecimal digits, the fourth part matches any 4 hexadecimal digits, and the fifth part matches any 12 hexadecimal digits.

3. if (preg_match('/^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{12}$/', $uuid)) { - This is the if statement that checks if the regular expression matches the UUID.

4. echo 'Valid UUID'; - This is the code that is executed if the regular expression matches the UUID.

5. echo 'Invalid UUID'; - This is the code that is executed if the regular expression does not match the UUID.

Helpful links

• PHP preg_match() Function
• Regular Expressions Tutorial

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