In what situations would it be more appropriate to use functions like explode() or preg_split() over str_replace() for string manipulation in PHP?

When you need to split a string into an array based on a delimiter or pattern, it would be more appropriate to use functions like explode() or preg_split() over str_replace(). These functions are specifically designed for splitting strings and provide more flexibility in handling different types of delimiters or patterns.

// Using explode() to split a string by a delimiter
$string = "apple,banana,orange";
$array = explode(",", $string);
print_r($array);

// Using preg_split() to split a string by a regular expression pattern
$string = "Hello World";
$array = preg_split("/\s+/", $string);
print_r($array);