Getting the first character of a string with $str[0]

Question

I want to get the first letter of a string and I\'ve noticed that $str[0] works great. I am just not sure whether this is \'good practice\', as that notation is

Answer 1

Speaking as a mere mortal, I would stick with $str[0]. As far as I'm concerned, it's quicker to grasp the meaning of $str[0] at a glance than substr($str, 0, 1). This probably boils down to a matter of preference.

As far as performance goes, well, profile profile profile. :) Or you could peer into the PHP source code...

Answer 2

I've used that notation before as well, with no ill side effects and no misunderstandings. It makes sense -- a string is just an array of characters, after all.

Answer 3

It'll vary depending on resources, but you could run the script bellow and see for yourself ;)

<?php
$tests = 100000;

for ($i = 0; $i < $tests; $i++)
{
    $string = md5(rand());
    $position = rand(0, 31);

    $start1 = microtime(true);
    $char1 = $string[$position];
    $end1 = microtime(true);
    $time1[$i] = $end1 - $start1;

    $start2 = microtime(true);
    $char2 = substr($string, $position, 1);
    $end2 = microtime(true);
    $time2[$i] = $end2 - $start2;

    $start3 = microtime(true);
    $char3 = $string{$position};
    $end3 = microtime(true);
    $time3[$i] = $end3 - $start3;
}

$avg1 = array_sum($time1) / $tests;
echo 'the average float microtime using "array[]" is '. $avg1 . PHP_EOL;

$avg2 = array_sum($time2) / $tests;
echo 'the average float microtime using "substr()" is '. $avg2 . PHP_EOL;

$avg3 = array_sum($time3) / $tests;
echo 'the average float microtime using "array{}" is '. $avg3 . PHP_EOL;
?>

---

Some reference numbers (on an old CoreDuo machine)

$ php 1.php 
the average float microtime using "array[]" is 1.914701461792E-6
the average float microtime using "substr()" is 2.2536706924438E-6
the average float microtime using "array{}" is 1.821768283844E-6

$ php 1.php 
the average float microtime using "array[]" is 1.7251944541931E-6
the average float microtime using "substr()" is 2.0931363105774E-6
the average float microtime using "array{}" is 1.7225742340088E-6

$ php 1.php 
the average float microtime using "array[]" is 1.7293763160706E-6
the average float microtime using "substr()" is 2.1037721633911E-6
the average float microtime using "array{}" is 1.7249774932861E-6

It seems that using the [] or {} operators is more or less the same.