A proper unicode string split;
<?php
function str_split_unicode($str, $l = 0) {
if ($l > 0) {
$ret = array();
$len = mb_strlen($str, "UTF-8");
for ($i = 0; $i < $len; $i += $l) {
$ret[] = mb_substr($str, $i, $l, "UTF-8");
}
return $ret;
}
return preg_split("//u", $str, -1, PREG_SPLIT_NO_EMPTY);
}
?>
$s = "Ilık süt"; // Mild milk
print_r(str_split($s, 3));
print_r(str_split_unicode($s, 3));
Array
(
[0] => Il�
[1] => �k
[2] => sü
[3] => t
)
Array
(
[0] => Ilı
[1] => k s
[2] => üt
)
str_split
(PHP 5, PHP 7)
str_split — Convert a string to an array
Description
str_split
( string
$string
[, int $split_length = 1
] ) : arrayConverts a string to an array.
Parameters
-
string -
The input string.
-
split_length -
Maximum length of the chunk.
Return Values
If the optional split_length parameter is
specified, the returned array will be broken down into chunks with each
being split_length in length, otherwise each chunk
will be one character in length.
FALSE is returned if split_length is less than 1.
If the split_length length exceeds the length of
string, the entire string is returned as the first
(and only) array element.
Examples
Example #1 Example uses of str_split()
<?php
$str = "Hello Friend";
$arr1 = str_split($str);
$arr2 = str_split($str, 3);
print_r($arr1);
print_r($arr2);
?>
The above example will 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
)
Notes
Note:
str_split() will split into bytes, rather than characters when dealing with a multi-byte encoded string.
See Also
- chunk_split() - Split a string into smaller chunks
- preg_split() - Split string by a regular expression
- explode() - Split a string by a string
- count_chars() - Return information about characters used in a string
- str_word_count() - Return information about words used in a string
- for
add a note
User Contributed Notes 39 notes
qeremy [atta] gmail [dotta] com ¶
7 years ago
qeremy [atta] gmail [dotta] com ¶
5 years ago
A new version of "str_split_unicode" prev.
<?php
function str_split_unicode($str, $length = 1) {
$tmp = preg_split('~~u', $str, -1, PREG_SPLIT_NO_EMPTY);
if ($length > 1) {
$chunks = array_chunk($tmp, $length);
foreach ($chunks as $i => $chunk) {
$chunks[$i] = join('', (array) $chunk);
}
$tmp = $chunks;
}
return $tmp;
}
?>
$s = 'Özgür Yazılım!'; // Open Source!
print_r(str_split_unicode($s));
print_r(str_split_unicode($s, 3));
Array
(
[0] => Ö
[1] => z
[2] => g
[3] => ü
[4] => r
[5] =>
[6] => Y
[7] => a
[8] => z
[9] => ı
[10] => l
[11] => ı
[12] => m
[13] => !
)
Array
(
[0] => Özg
[1] => ür
[2] => Yaz
[3] => ılı
[4] => m!
)
Daniel Rhodes ¶
4 years ago
It's mentioned in the Return Values section above ("If the split_length length exceeds the length of string, the entire string is returned as the first (and only) array element"), but note that an input of empty string will return array(1) { [0]=> string(0) "" }. Interestingly an input of NULL will also return array(1) { [0]=> string(0) "" }.
Compare this with, say, <?php preg_split('//', $inputString, -1, PREG_SPLIT_NO_EMPTY); ?> which will return array(0) { } for an input of empty string or NULL. I find this to be a bit more intuitive.
Hope this helps.
kjensen at iaff106 dot com ¶
11 years ago
Here is what I use. I started with examples here but modified to my own version:
<?php
if (phpversion () < "5"){ // define PHP5 functions if server uses PHP4
function str_split($text, $split = 1)
{
if (!is_string($text)) return false;
if (!is_numeric($split) && $split < 1) return false;
$len = strlen($text);
$array = array();
$s = 0;
$e=$split;
while ($s <$len)
{
$e=($e <$len)?$e:$len;
$array[] = substr($text, $s,$e);
$s = $s+$e;
}
return $array;
}
}
?>
Anonymous ¶
11 years ago
Version of str_split by rlpvandenberg at hotmail dot com is god-damn inefficient and when $i+$j > strlen($text) [last part of string] throws a lot of notice errors. This should work better:
if(! function_exists('str_split'))
{
function str_split($text, $split = 1)
{
$array = array();
for ($i = 0; $i < strlen($text);)
{
$array[] = substr($text, $i, $split);
$i += $split;
}
return $array;
}
}
vec [ at t] g dot com ¶
10 years ago
the fastast way (that fits my needs) to replace str_split() in php 4 i found is this:
<?php
if(!function_exists('str_split')) {
function str_split($string, $split_length = 1) {
$array = explode("\r\n", chunk_split($string, $split_length));
array_pop($array);
return $array;
}
}
?>
i also tested the provided functions in the comments..
(the differences are 0.001 to 0.00001 sec)
nemostein at hotmail dot com ¶
9 years ago
The manual don't says what is returned when you parse a different type of variable.
This is the example:
<?php
$str1 = "Long"; // More than 1 char
$str2 = "x"; // Only 1 char
$str3 = ""; // Empty String
$str4 = 34; // Integer
$str5 = 3.4; // Float
$str6 = true; // Bool
$str7 = null; // Null
$spl1 = str_split($str1);
$spl2 = str_split($str2);
$spl3 = str_split($str3);
$spl4 = str_split($str4);
$spl5 = str_split($str5);
$spl6 = str_split($str6);
$spl7 = str_split($str7);
echo count($spl1); // 4
echo count($spl2); // 1
echo count($spl3); // 1
echo count($spl4); // 2
echo count($spl5); // 3
echo count($spl6); // 1
echo count($spl7); // 1
print_r($spl1);
print_r($spl2);
print_r($spl3);
print_r($spl4);
print_r($spl5);
print_r($spl6);
print_r($spl7);
/*
Array
(
[0] => L
[1] => o
[2] => n
[3] => g
)
Array
(
[0] => x
)
Array
(
[0] =>
)
Array
(
[0] => 3
[1] => 4
)
Array
(
[0] => 3
[1] => .
[2] => 4
)
Array
(
[0] => 1
)
Array
(
[0] =>
)
*/
?>
dacmeaux at gmail dot com ¶
11 years ago
I was looking for a function that would split a string into an array like str_split() and found Razor's function above. Just though that I would simplify the code a little.
<?php
function str_split_php4($text, $split = 1){
//place each character of the string into and array
$array = array();
for($i=0; $i < strlen($text); $i++){
$key = NULL;
for ($j = 0; $j < $split; $j++){
$key .= $text[$i];
}
array_push($array, $key);
}
return $array;
}
?>
Both mine and worksRazor's work well, I just prefer to use less code. I could have written one myself, but I was just being lazy.
rlpvandenberg at hotmail dot com ¶
11 years ago
The previous suggestion is almost correct (and will only working for strlen=1. The working PHP4 function is:
<code>
function str_split($text, $split = 1){
//place each character of the string into and array
$array = array();
for ($i=0; $i < strlen($text); $i++){
$key = "";
for ($j = 0; $j < $split; $j++){
$key .= $text[$i+$j];
}
$i = $i + $j - 1;
array_push($array, $key);
}
return $array;
}
</code>
veszelovszki at gmail dot com ¶
4 years ago
Here is a better version of queremy@gmail.com's solution. It has the exact same interface as str_split, but works with any UTF-8 string.
<?php
if (!function_exists('mb_str_split')) {
/**
* Converts an UTF-8 string to an array.
*
* E.g. mb_str_split("Hello Friend");
* returns ['H', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o', ' ', 'w', 'o', 'r', 'l', 'd']
*
* @param string $string The input string.
* @param int $split_length Maximum length of the chunk. If specified, the returned array will be broken down
* into chunks with each being split_length in length, otherwise each chunk will be one character in length.
* @return array|boolean
* -
* - If the split_length length exceeds the length of string, the entire string is returned
* as the first (and only) array element.
* - False is returned if split_length is less than 1.
*/
function mb_str_split($string, $split_length = 1)
{
if ($split_length == 1) {
return preg_split("//u", $string, -1, PREG_SPLIT_NO_EMPTY);
} elseif ($split_length > 1) {
$return_value = [];
$string_length = mb_strlen($string, "UTF-8");
for ($i = 0; $i < $string_length; $i += $split_length) {
$return_value[] = mb_substr($string, $i, $split_length, "UTF-8");
}
return $return_value;
} else {
return false;
}
}
}
?>
robert dot johnson at icap dot com ¶
4 years ago
<?php
/* Another implementation of str_split_unicode: */
function str_split_unicode($str, $l = 0)
{
return preg_split('/(.{'.$l.'})/us', $str, -1, PREG_SPLIT_NO_EMPTY|PREG_SPLIT_DELIM_CAPTURE);
}
?>
Perl Rules ¶
2 years ago
Unicode str_split without use of mbstring. Based on PCRE_UTF8 feature.
function mb_str_split($str, $len){
$chars = preg_split('/(?<!^)(?!$)/u', $str );
$out = array();
foreach( array_chunk($chars, $len) as $a ){
$out[] = join("", $a);
}
return $out;
}
anon ¶
8 years ago
I needed a function that could split a string from the end with any left over chunk being at the beginning of the array (the beginning of the string).
<?php
function str_rsplit($str, $sz)
{
// splits a string "starting" at the end, so any left over (small chunk) is at the beginning of the array.
if ( !$sz ) { return false; }
if ( $sz > 0 ) { return str_split($str,$sz); } // normal split
$l = strlen($str);
$sz = min(-$sz,$l);
$mod = $l % $sz;
if ( !$mod ) { return str_split($str,$sz); } // even/max-length split
// split
return array_merge(array(substr($str,0,$mod)), str_split(substr($str,$mod),$sz));
}
$str = 'aAbBcCdDeEfFg';
str_split($str,5); // return: {'aAbBc','CdDeE','fFg'}
str_rsplit($str,5); // return: {'aAbBc','CdDeE','fFg'}
str_rsplit($str,-5); // return: {'aAb','BcCdD','eEfFg'}
?>
stlawson AT JoyfulEarthTech DOT com ¶
6 years ago
The documentation fails to mention what happens when the string length does not divide evenly with the chunk size. Not sure if the same behavior for all versions of PHP so I offer the following code to determine this for your installation. On mine [version 5.2.17], the last chunk is an array the length of the remaining chars.
<?php
$da_string = "When number of chars does't divide evenly";
$len = strlen($da_string);
$chunk_size = 8;
echo "<p> Length of <span style='font-family:monospace'>$da_string</span>: $len</p>\n";
echo "<p> Chunck size: $chunk_size</p>\n";
$parts = str_split($da_string, $chunk_size);
$html = "<table border='5' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='4'>\n";
foreach ($parts as $idx=>$part)
{
$html .= "<tr>\n";
$html .= "<td style='font-family:monospace'>$part</td>";
$chars = str_split($part);
foreach ($chars as $char)
{
if ($char === ' ')
{
$html .= "<td> </td>";
}
else
{
$html .= "<td>$char</td>";
}
}
$html .= "</tr>\n";
}
$html .= "</table>\n";
echo $html;
?>
kunal dot b at indiaproperty dot com ¶
4 years ago
Note that in atleast in PHP 5.5.9 (Zend Engine v2.5.0), str_split with an integer value as an argument may return unpredictable results.
If your number contains leading 0's, the result array is unprdictable as it may contain any number of digits from the argument or (mostly) just a 0.
Here are a list of possible values that might be returned:
-Interger
<?php
print_r(str_split(0080450)); // does not work
print_r(str_split(strval(0080450))); // neither this
/*
* Outputs:
* Array
* (
* [0] => 0
* )
*/
?>
BUT
<?php
print_r(str_split(80450)); // works fine
print_r(str_split(strval(80450))); // so does this
/*
* Outputs:
* (
* [0] => 8
* [1] => 0
* [2] => 4
* [3] => 5
* [4] => 0
* )
*/
?>
Floating point numbers have their leading and trailing 0s cut off:
<?php
print_r(str_split(0080450.0010)); // works but.. print_r(str_split(strval(0080450.0010))); // same here..
/*
Outputs:
* Array
* (
* [0] => 8
* [1] => 0
* [2] => 4
* [3] => 5
* [4] => 0
* [5] => .
* [6] => 0
* [7] => 0
* [8] => 1
* )
*/
?>
I'm not sure if this can be considered a bug, since this is due to how type conversion and casting works, so i just posted it here.
I've notced that this is how strval() works. Can anyone shed light into this?..
fstorm2 at gmail dot com ¶
12 years ago
If you use PHP 4 and don't need the split_length parameter, here's the shortest replacement:
<?php
preg_split('#(?<=.)(?=.)#s', $str);
?>
magisano at cs dot unibo dot it ¶
11 years ago
Even shorter version:
//place each character (or group of) of the
string into and array
function str_split_php4($sText, $iSplit = 1)
{
$iSplit=(integer) $iSplit; // sanity check
if ($iSplit < 1) { return false; }
$aResult = array();
for($i=0, $limit=strlen($sText); $i < $limit; $i+=$iSplit) {
$aResult[]=substr($sText, $i, $iSplit);
}
return $aResult;
}
mattias at lsahlin dot se ¶
10 years ago
For those it may concern:
We encountered trubble when trying to str_split a UTF-8 encoded string, containing such Swedish letters as å, å and ö.
It seems that this function splits according to byte-length and not character length. So if the letter "Å" takes 2 bytes, then str_split() will only return the first bite of the character "Å".
We ain't 100% sure that this is the case but this was anyhow the result we got. So we used the multi-byte functions instead.
Razor ¶
12 years ago
heres my version for php4 and below
<?php
function str_split_php4($text, $split = 1)
{
if (!is_string($text)) return false;
if (!is_numeric($split) && $split < 1) return false;
$len = strlen($text);
$array = array();
$i = 0;
while ($i < $len)
{
$key = NULL;
for ($j = 0; $j < $split; $j += 1)
{
$key .= $text{$i};
$i += 1;
}
$array[] = $key;
}
return $array;
}
?>
seebz.net ¶
9 years ago
here an equivalent function for unicode string :
<?php
function uni_strsplit($string, $split_length=1)
{
preg_match_all('`.`u', $string, $arr);
$arr = array_chunk($arr[0], $split_length);
$arr = array_map('implode', $arr);
return $arr;
}
atolia at gmail----- dot com ¶
11 years ago
i use this in PHP4
function str_split($str){
return preg_split('//',$str);
}
rrelmy ¶
10 years ago
revised function from tatsudoshi
Fixed some bugs, more php5 style compliant
<?php
if(!function_exists('str_split')) {
function str_split($string,$string_length=1) {
if(strlen($string)>$string_length || !$string_length) {
do {
$c = strlen($string);
$parts[] = substr($string,0,$string_length);
$string = substr($string,$string_length);
} while($string !== false);
} else {
$parts = array($string);
}
return $parts;
}
}
?>
jakub dot lopuszanski at nasza-klasa dot pl ¶
5 years ago
To split UTF-8 into 16-charcater slices you can use:
<?php
preg_split('/(?=(.{16})*$)/u', $text);
?>
You can also use look-behind instead of look-ahead if you want the first (not the last) chunk to be the shortest.
mohd at ba7rain dot net ¶
11 years ago
this function can perform a reverse str_split. I write it for PHP4 but you can rename It for other versions..
if ( !function_exists('str_split') ) {
function str_split($string,$split_length=1){
$sign = (($split_length<0)?-1:1);
$strlen = strlen($string);
$split_length = abs($split_length);
if ( ($split_length==0) || ($strlen==0) ){
$result = false;
//$result[] = "";
}
elseif ($split_length >= $strlen){
$result[] = $string;
}
else {
$length = $split_length;
for ($i=0; $i<$strlen; $i++){
$i=(($sign<0)?$i+$length:$i);
$result[] = substr($string,$sign*$i,$length);
$i--;
$i=(($sign<0)?$i:$i+$length);
if ( ($i+$split_length) > ($strlen) ){
$length = $strlen-($i+1);
}
else {
$length = $split_length;
}
}
}
return $result;
}
}
webmaster at nsssa dot ca ¶
12 years ago
I noticed in the post below me that his function would return an array with an empty key at the end.
So here is just a little fix for it.
<?php
//Create a string split function for pre PHP5 versions
function str_split($str, $nr) {
//Return an array with 1 less item then the one we have
return array_slice(split("-l-", chunk_split($str, $nr, '-l-')), 0, -1);
}
?>
carlosreche at yahoo dot com ¶
13 years ago
For those who work with PHP < 5:
<?php
if (!function_exists("str_split")) {
function str_split($string, $length = 1) {
if ($length <= 0) {
trigger_error(__FUNCTION__."(): The the length of each segment must be greater then zero:", E_USER_WARNING);
return false;
}
$splitted = array();
$str_length = strlen($string);
$i = 0;
if ($length == 1) {
while ($str_length--) {
$splitted[$i] = $string[$i++];
}
} else {
$j = $i;
while ($str_length > 0) {
$splitted[$j++] = substr($string, $i, $length);
$str_length -= $length;
$i += $length;
}
}
return $splitted;
}
}
?>
Hage Yaapa ¶
13 years ago
The very handy str_split() was introduced in PHP 5, but a lot of us are still forced to use PHP 4 at our host servers. And I am sure a lot of beginners have looked or are looking for a function to accomplish what str_split() does.
Taking advantge of the fact that strings are 'arrays' I wrote this tiny but useful e-mail cloaker in PHP, which guarantees functionality even if JavaScript is disabled in the client's browser. Watch how I make up for the lack of str_split() in PHP 4.3.10.
<?php
// cloackEmail() accepts a string, the email address to be cloaked
function cloakEmail($email) {
// We create a new array called $arChars, which will contain the individula characters making up the email address. The array is blank for now.
$arChars = array();
// We extract each character from the email 'exploiting' the fact that strings behave like an array: watch the '$email[$i]' bit, and beging to fill up the blank array $arChars
for ($i = 0; $i < strlen($email); $i++) { $arChars[] = $email[$i]; }
// Now we work on the $arChars array: extract each character in the array and print out it's ASCII value prefixed with '&#' to convert it into an HTML entity
foreach ($arChars as $char) { print '&#'.ord($char); }
// The result is an email address in HTML entities which, I hope most email address harvesters can't read.
}
print cloakEmail('someone@nokikon.com');
?>
###### THE CODE ABOVE WITHOUT COMMENTS ######
<?php
function cloakEmail($email) {
$arChars = array();
for ($i = 0; $i < strlen($email); $i++) { $arChars[] = $email[$i]; }
foreach ($arChars as $char) { print '&#'.ord($char); }
}
print cloakEmail('someone@nokikon.com');
?>
In creating this little utility, I demonstrated how the lack of str_split() can be made up in PHP < 5. If you got how it was accomplished, you could write a function to do exactly what str_split() does in PHP 5 and even name it 'str_split()'. :)
heavyraptor ¶
13 years ago
I think that the last post by carlosreche at yahoo dot com is too complicated.
It's much easier if you do it like this:
<?php
if (!function_exists("str_split")) {
function str_split($str,$length = 1) {
if ($length < 1) return false;
$strlen = strlen($str);
$ret = array();
for ($i = 0; $i < $strlen; $i += $length) {
$ret[] = substr($str,$i,$length);
}
return $ret;
}
}
?>
I hope it helps for those with PHP <5
Sam ¶
11 years ago
A good way to use this method to convert CamelCase text into nice text would be-
<?php
/**
Returns a formatted string based on camel case.
e.g. "CamelCase" -> "Camel Case".
*/
function FormatCamelCase( $string ) {
$output = "";
foreach( str_split( $string ) as $char ) {
strtoupper( $char ) == $char and $output and $output .= " ";
$output .= $char;
}
return $output;
}
?>
ricordati at web dot de ¶
10 years ago
To split unicode text, preg_match_all('/./u', $text, $array); seems faster for large strings than the use of preg_split('//u', $text); suggested by "edgaras dot janusauskas at gmail dot com" below.
lskatz at gmail dot com ¶
11 years ago
A good use of str_split is reverse translating an amino acid sequence.
<?php
/* reverse translate an aa sequence using its dna counterpart */
function reverseTranslate($aaSeq,$ntSeq){
$nt=str_split($ntSeq,3);
$aa=str_split($aaSeq,1);
$gapChar=array('*','-');
$numAa=count($aa);
$ntIndex=0;
$newNtSeq="";
for($i=0;$i<$numAa;$i++){
// if the aa is a gap, then just put on a gap character
if(in_array($aa[$i],$gapChar)){
$newNtSeq.='---';
}
else{
$newNtSeq.=$nt[$ntIndex];
$ntIndex++;
}
}
return $newNtSeq;
}
?>
malmsteenforce at tlen dot pl ¶
12 years ago
<?
//fast & short version od str_split
function string_split($str)
{
$str_array=array();
$len=strlen($str);
for($i=0;$i<$len;$i++) $str_array[]=$str{$i};
return $str_array;
}
//example :
var_dump (string_split("split this"));
?>
user at mockme dot com ¶
13 years ago
found this great example on a php board for those not using php5, as an alternative to the posts below this
<?php
if(!function_exists('str_split')){
function str_split($string,$split_length=1){
$count = strlen($string);
if($split_length < 1){
return false;
} elseif($split_length > $count){
return array($string);
} else {
$num = (int)ceil($count/$split_length);
$ret = array();
for($i=0;$i<$num;$i++){
$ret[] = substr($string,$i*$split_length,$split_length);
}
return $ret;
}
}
}
?>
l0c4lh0st DOT nl AT gmail DOT com ¶
11 years ago
how I can conwert
$string
'1, 2, 5, 6, 10, 13, 23'
from ENUM at mySQL to
$array
[0] -> false
[1] -> true
[2] -> true
[3] -> false
[4] -> false
[5] -> true
[6] -> true
[7] -> false
[8] -> false
[9] -> false
[10] -> true
[11] -> false
[12] -> false
[13] -> true
[14] -> false
[15] -> false
...
[23] -> true
<?php
function enum_to_array($psEnum)
{
$aReturn = array();
$aTemp = explode(', ', $psEnum);
for ($i = $aTemp[0]; $i <= $aTemp[count($aTemp)-1]; $i++)
{
$aReturn[$i] = in_array($i, $aTemp);
}
}
?>
saeedco ¶
11 years ago
This function supportes utf8
(improvement of function str_split_php4)
i tried this function successfully with these languages
1- Chinese
2- Japanese
3- Arabic
4- Turkish
5- Urdu
6- Russian
7- Persian
<?php
function str_split_php4_utf8($str) {
// place each character of the string into and array
$split=1;
$array = array();
for ( $i=0; $i < strlen( $str ); ){
$value = ord($str[$i]);
if($value > 127){
if($value >= 192 && $value <= 223)
$split=2;
elseif($value >= 224 && $value <= 239)
$split=3;
elseif($value >= 240 && $value <= 247)
$split=4;
}else{
$split=1;
}
$key = NULL;
for ( $j = 0; $j < $split; $j++, $i++ ) {
$key .= $str[$i];
}
array_push( $array, $key );
}
return $array;
}
?>
kevin at metalaxe dot com ¶
11 years ago
Response to "Richard Ayotte 18-Jan-2008 09:27":
Slight tweak to prevent the need to call another preg_replace, there were also some bugs in this that I'm surprised didn't get noticed (causing duplicate replaces between the preg_replace calls) :)
Please feel free to optimize further. I'm not the best with lookahead/behinds yet. I also removed the :upper/lower: and it seemed to speed things up too.
<?php
$test = 'CustomerIDWithSomeOtherJETWords';
preg_replace('/(?!^)[A-Z]{2,}(?=[A-Z][a-z])|[A-Z][a-z]/', ' $0', $test));
?>
Shaves off a little time anyway. :)
Anonymous ¶
6 years ago
A little one-liner that came in handy. I thought i'd share for those who want to split a string into two parts by the given offset.
<?php
/**
* Split a string into two parts at offset.
*
* @param string $string
* @param integer $offset
* @return mixed array and bool(false) if offset is out of scope
*/
function str_osplit($string, $offset){
return isset($string[$offset]) ? array(substr($string, 0, $offset), substr($string, $offset)) : false;
}
$str = "Split a string into two parts at offset";
var_dump(str_osplit($str, 12));
/**
* Output:
array(2) {
[0]=>
string(12) "Split a stri"
[1]=>
string(27) "ng into two parts at offset"
}
*/
?>
thax ¶
10 years ago
Regarding ricordatis comment on preg_match_all('/./u',...) instead of preg_split('//u',...):
You'll have to use the pattern '/./us' with preg_match_all to get exactly the same behaviour w.r.t. newlines. Don't know if this is still faster, though. Oh, and the expected result is in $array[0].
