parse_str

(PHP 3, PHP 4 , PHP 5)

parse_str -- Parses the string into variables

Description

void parse_str ( string str [, array &arr])

Parses str as if it were the query string passed via a URL and sets variables in the current scope. If the second parameter arr is present, variables are stored in this variable as array elements instead.

Note: Support for the optional second parameter was added in PHP 4.0.3.

Note: To get the current QUERY_STRING, you may use the variable $_SERVER['QUERY_STRING']. Also, you may want to read the section on variables from outside of PHP.

Note: The magic_quotes_gpc setting affects the output of this function, as parse_str() uses the same mechanism that PHP uses to populate the $_GET, $_POST, etc. variables.

Example 1. Using parse_str()

<?php
$str
= "first=value&arr[]=foo+bar&arr[]=baz";
parse_str($str);
echo
$first;  // value
echo $arr[0]; // foo bar
echo $arr[1]; // baz

parse_str($str, $output);
echo
$output['first'];  // value
echo $output['arr'][0]; // foo bar
echo $output['arr'][1]; // baz

?>

See also parse_url(), pathinfo(), set_magic_quotes_gpc(), and urldecode().