Parse string containing two numbers and assign them to two variables

Question

$pos contains two numbers delimited by a space in one string.

$pos = 98.9 100.2

How can I split this into 2 variables? I obviously have to check for the space in between.

I would like to have two variables afterwards:

$number1 = 98.9
$number2 = 100.2 

Answer 1

list($number1, $number2) = explode(' ', $pos);

However, make sure the string has the right format before doing this.

Answer 2

If it is always a space, then check

array explode ( string $delimiter , string $string [, int $limit ] )

And in your case you have

$foo = "1.2 3.4 invalidfoo"
$bits = explode(" ",$foo);

which gives you an array:

echo 0+$bits[0];    
echo 0+$bits[1];
echo 0+$bits[3];

Use +0 to force the cast :)

Answer 3

You could use:

$pos = "98.9 100.2";
$vals = preg_split("/[\s]+/", $pos);
list($number1, $number2) = $vals;

Answer 4

Using sscanf() instead of general-use string splitting functions like explode() or preg_split(), you can instantly data-type the isolated values.

For the sample string, using %f twice will extract the space-delimited values and cast the two numeric values as floats/doubles.

Code: (Demo)

$pos = '98.9 100.2';
sscanf($pos, '%f %f', $number1, $number2);
var_dump($number1);
echo "\n";
var_dump($number2);

Output:

float(98.9)

float(100.2)

---

There is an alternative syntax which will act the same way, but return the values as an array. (Demo)

$pos = '98.9 100.2';
var_dump(sscanf($pos, '%f %f'));

Output:

array(2) {
  [0]=>
  float(98.9)
  [1]=>
  float(100.2)
}