What is the recommended approach for using regular expressions in PHP to match a specific pattern in a string?

When using regular expressions in PHP to match a specific pattern in a string, it is recommended to use the preg_match() function. This function allows you to specify the pattern you want to match and the string you want to search within. If a match is found, preg_match() will return true, otherwise it will return false.

// Example code snippet using preg_match() to match a specific pattern in a string
$string = "Hello, World!";
$pattern = '/Hello/';
if (preg_match($pattern, $string)) {
    echo "Pattern found in the string.";
} else {
    echo "Pattern not found in the string.";
}