Tutorials

PHP String get_html_translation_table() Function

Posted in PHP Tutorial

Updated on Nov 22, 2024

By Mari Selvan

👁️ 74 - Views

⏳ 4 mins

💬 1 Comment

PHP String get_html_translation_table() Function

Photo Credit to CodeToFun

🙋 Introduction

In PHP, working with strings often involves tasks related to HTML and character encoding.

The get_html_translation_table() function is a useful tool that returns the translation table used by the htmlspecialchars() and htmlentities() functions.

This table maps special characters to their HTML entity equivalents.

In this tutorial, we'll explore the usage and functionality of the get_html_translation_table() function in PHP.

💡 Syntax

The signature of the get_html_translation_table() function is as follows:

Syntax

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get_html_translation_table(int $table = HTML_SPECIALCHARS [, int $flags = ENT_COMPAT | ENT_HTML401 [, string|null $encoding = ini_get("default_charset") [, bool $double_encode = true ]]])

This function returns the translation table as an array.

📄 Example

Let's delve into an example to illustrate how the get_html_translation_table() function works.

get_html_translation_table.php

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<?php

// Get the HTML translation table for special characters
$translationTable = get_html_translation_table(HTML_SPECIALCHARS);

// Output the translation table
print_r($translationTable);

?>

💻 Output

Output

Array
(
    ["] => "
    [&] => &
    [<] => <
    [>] => >
)

🧠 How the Program Works

In this example, the get_html_translation_table() function is used to obtain the translation table for special characters, and it's then printed for inspection.

↩️ Return Value

The function returns the HTML translation table as an associative array where keys are the special characters, and values are their HTML entity equivalents.

📚 Common Use Cases

The get_html_translation_table() function is useful when you need to customize or inspect the translation table used by functions like htmlspecialchars() and htmlentities(). It allows you to understand how special characters are encoded into HTML entities.

📝 Notes

The $table parameter allows you to specify the translation table. Common values are HTML_SPECIALCHARS, HTML_ENTITIES, HTML_QUOTE_SINGLE, and HTML_QUOTE_DOUBLE.
The $flags parameter allows you to set flags for the translation table. Common flags include ENT_COMPAT, ENT_QUOTES, ENT_NOQUOTES, ENT_HTML401, ENT_XML1, and others.

🎢 Optimization

The get_html_translation_table() function is optimized for retrieving the translation table used in HTML encoding. No specific optimization is typically needed for this function.

🎉 Conclusion

The get_html_translation_table() function in PHP is a valuable tool for working with HTML encoding and understanding the translation table used by related functions. It provides insight into how special characters are transformed into HTML entities, enhancing your control over string manipulations in PHP.

Feel free to experiment with different parameters and explore the translation table for various scenarios. Happy coding!