What are the advantages of using \s as a metacharacter in preg_replace for handling multiple spaces in PHP?

When handling multiple spaces in PHP, using \s as a metacharacter in preg_replace allows for a more efficient and concise way to replace multiple spaces with a single space. This metacharacter represents any whitespace character, including spaces, tabs, and line breaks. By using \s, you can easily target and replace all instances of consecutive whitespace characters with just one replacement, simplifying your code and improving readability. 

// Example code snippet using \s as a metacharacter in preg_replace to replace multiple spaces with a single space
$string = "Hello    world!   This   is   a   test.";
$cleaned_string = preg_replace('/\s+/', ' ', $string);

echo $cleaned_string; // Output: Hello world! This is a test.

Keywords

PHP preg_replace \s metacharacter multiple spaces

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