php-regexHow to use PHP regex to match special characters?

PHP regex can be used to match special characters using the preg_match() function.

$string = 'This is a string with special characters!';

if (preg_match('/[^a-zA-Z0-9\s]/', $string)) {
    echo 'Special characters found!';
}

Output example

Special characters found!

The code above uses the preg_match() function to check if the string contains any special characters. The regex pattern /[^a-zA-Z0-9\s]/ is used to match any character that is not a letter, number, or whitespace.

• preg_match(): a PHP function used to match a regex pattern against a string
• /[^a-zA-Z0-9\s]/: a regex pattern used to match any character that is not a letter, number, or whitespace

Helpful links

• PHP preg_match() Function
• Regular Expressions Tutorial

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