str_split()

str_split() — Convert a string to an array.

Built-in function of PHP 8.5. The manual lists it as available in PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8. This page is the reference card: signature, parameters and return value, plus the changelog and the example the manual provides.

Signature

str_split(string $string, int $length = 1): array

Parameters

Parameter	Type	What it takes
$string	string	The input string.
$length	int	Maximum length of the chunk.

Return value

If the optional length parameter is specified, the returned array will be broken down into chunks with each being length in length, except the final chunk which may be shorter if the string does not divide evenly. The default length is 1, meaning every chunk will be one byte in size.

Example

A runnable snippet:

$str = "Hello Friend"; $arr1 = str_split($str); $arr2 = str_split($str, 3); print_r($arr1); print_r($arr2);

Output:

Array ( [0] => H [1] => e [2] => l [3] => l [4] => o [5] => [6] => F [7] => r [8] => i [9] => e [10] => n [11] => d ) Array ( [0] => Hel [1] => lo [2] => Fri [3] => end )

Changelog

Version	Change
8.2.0	If string is empty an empty array is now returned. Previously an array containing a single empty string was returned.
8.0.0	If length is less than 1, a ValueError will be thrown now; previously, an error of level E_WARNING has been raised instead, and the function returned false.