php removing excess whitespace

Question

I\'m trying to remove excess whitespace from a string like this:

hello        world

to

Answer 1

$str = 'Why   do I
          have  so much white   space?';

$str = preg_replace('/\s{2,}/', ' ', $str);

var_dump($str); // string(34) "Why do I have so much white space?"

See it!

You could also use the + quantifier, because it always replaces it with a . However, I find {2,} to show your intent clearer.