undefined offset when using php explode()

Question

I\'ve written what I thought was a very simple use of the php explode() function to split a name into forename and surname:

// split name into f         


        

Answer 1

BTW, that algorithm won't work all the time. Think about two-word Latina or Italian surnames names like "De Castro", "Dela Cruz", "La Rosa", etc. Split will return 3 instead of 2 words:

Array {
  [0] => 'Pedro'
  [1] => 'De'
  [1] => 'Castro'
}

You'll end up with messages like "Welcome back Ana De" or "Editing Profile of Monsour La".

Same thing will happen for two-word names like "Anne Marie Miller", "William Howard Taft", etc.

Just a tip.

Answer 2

Use array_pad

e.q.: $split = array_pad(explode(' ', $fullname), 2, null);

• explode will split your string into an array without any limits.
• array_pad will fill the exploded array with null values if it has less than 2 entries.

---

See array_pad

Answer 3

Presumably, whatever $fullname is doesn't contain a space, so $split is an array containing a single element, so $split[1] refers to an undefined offset.

Answer 4

this is because your fullname doesn't contain a space. You can use a simple trick to make sure the space is always where

 $split = explode(' ', "$fullname ");

(note the space inside the quotes)

BTW, you can use list() function to simplify your code

  list($first, $last) = explode(' ', "$fullname ");

Answer 5

This could be due the fact that $fullname did not contain a space character.

This example should fix your problem w/o displaying this notice:

$split = explode(' ', $fullname, 2);
$first = @$split[0];
$last = @$split[1];

Now if $fullname is "musoNic80" you won't get a notice message.

Note the use of "@" characters.

HTH Elias

Answer 6

array_pad is the only valid answer in this thread, all others are ugly hacks that can explode into your face. With array_pad you can always be sure that the amount of elements is correct and filled. Especially important when using with a list() type output.