What are some alternative methods to using regular expressions for string manipulation in PHP?

Using regular expressions for string manipulation in PHP can sometimes be complex and difficult to read. An alternative approach is to use built-in string functions like `str_replace`, `substr`, `explode`, `implode`, etc. These functions provide a simpler and more straightforward way to manipulate strings without the need for complex regex patterns.

// Example of using str_replace to replace a substring in a string
$string = "Hello, World!";
$newString = str_replace("Hello", "Hi", $string);
echo $newString;