I have written this script to be able to use bb-code like tags in my code. After spending much time in deciding the best method and asking at How to dynamically replace bb tags?, I decided to use preg_replace_callback.
There is a problem however with multiple items on the same line
Man [forvo=man,nl]
Mannen [forvo=mannen,nl]
The part above works, but below does not.
Kip [forvo=kip,nl] - Kippen [forvo=kippen,nl]
Bal [forvo=bal,nl] - Ballen [forvo=ballen,nl]
Vrouw [forvo=vrouw,nl] - Vrouwen [forvo=vrouwen,nl]
I know that using file_get_contents() is not a recommend option, but should I also find another solution over preg_replace_callback if I want to use multiple Forvo-tags per line?
<?php
// Replace forvos in the lesson
$lesson_body = $lesson['Lesson']['body'];
function forvize($match) {
$word = $match[1];
$language = $match[2];
$link = "http://apifree.forvo.com/action/word-pronunciations/format/js-tag/word/".$word."/language/".$language."/order/rate-desc/limit/1/key/API_KEY/";
$link = file_get_contents($link);
return $link;
}
//URL's
$lesson_body = preg_replace_callback("/\[forvo\=(.*),(.*)\]/", 'forvize', $lesson_body);
?>
The mistake you did is common. By default the FULL STOP (., also known as dot) matches any character but newline. So if you have got a single bbcode on a line this is no problem:
/\[forvo\=(.*),(.*)\]/
But if you've got more that a single bbcode on a line, the dot will take as much as possible to match the pattern:
[forvo=aaaa,bbbbb] ... [forvo=cccc,dddd]
(.* ),(.*)
What you can do instead is to limit the first parameter to all characters but COMMA (,) and the second parameter to all characters but RIGHT SQUARE BRACKET (]).
Example:
/\[forvo\=([^,]*),([^\]]*)\]/
A way to catch those is using the ungreedy quantifier (aka. question mark) to amke it catch all until the first occurrence of the following character in the pattern.
~\[forvo=(.*?),(.*?)\]~
Another option is to make it catch anything but specific characters (comma and closing bracket respectively in this case). Check @hakre's answer to see how it is done.