What is the function preg_split used for in PHP?

preg_split is a PHP function used to split a string into an array using a regular expression pattern as a delimiter. This can be useful when you need to break down a string based on specific patterns rather than simple characters. By using preg_split, you can easily extract and manipulate different parts of a string based on complex criteria defined by regular expressions. Example PHP code snippet: 

$string = "Hello World! How are you?";
$words = preg_split("/\s+/", $string);

print_r($words);
```

This code snippet will split the string "Hello World! How are you?" into an array of words based on the regular expression pattern "/\s+/", which matches one or more whitespace characters. The output will be:

```
Array
(
    [0] => Hello
    [1] => World!
    [2] => How
    [3] => are
    [4] => you?
)

Keywords

PHP preg_split regular expressions string manipulation delimiter

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