What are the advantages of using str_replace over split() function in PHP for text manipulation?

When manipulating text in PHP, using the str_replace function is often more efficient and straightforward than using the split() function. str_replace allows you to easily search for and replace specific substrings within a string, while split() is used for splitting a string into an array based on a specified delimiter. Additionally, str_replace is more commonly used and has better performance compared to split().

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