PHP Substr In Array

To find if a value exists in an array, the PHP in_array() function works quite nicely. But there are times when only a partial match is required to check in the array. This substr_in_array() function checks will search the values of an array for a substring. The $needl can be a string or an array of strings to search for.

<?php
/**
*
* @Search for substring in an array
*
* @param string $neele
*
* @param mixed $haystack
*
* @return bool
*
*/
function substr_in_array($needle, $haystack)
{
/*** cast to array ***/
$needle = (array) $needle;

/*** map with preg_quote ***/
$needle = array_map('preg_quote', $needle);

/*** loop of the array to get the search pattern ***/
foreach ($needle as $pattern)
{
if (count(preg_grep("/$pattern/", $haystack)) > 0)
return true;
}
/*** if it is not found ***/
return false;
}
?>

Example Usage

<?php

/*** an arrray to search through ***/
$array = array('dingo', 'wombat', 'kangaroo', 'platypus');


/*** an array of values to search for ***/
$strings = array('foo', 'bar', 'kang');

/*** check for true or false with ternary ***/
echo substr_in_array( $strings, $array ) ? 'found' : 'not found';

/*** a single string to search for ***/
$string = 'plat';

/*** check for true or false with ternary ***/
echo substr_in_array( $string, $array ) ? 'found' : 'not found';
?>