How to Truncate a String to the First 20 Words in PHP?

Truncating Strings to the First 20 Words in PHP

In PHP, handling string operations efficiently is crucial. A common task is to limit the length of a string to a specific number of words. This is useful in situations such as previewing text snippets or generating summary descriptions.

How to Truncate Strings to 20 Words in PHP?

To truncate a string to the first 20 words in PHP, you can utilize the following methods:

Method 1: Using Word Counting Functions

PHP provides the str_word_count() function to count the number of words in a string.

function limit_text($text, $limit) {
    if (str_word_count($text, 0) > $limit) {
        $words = str_word_count($text, 2);
        $pos   = array_keys($words);
        $text  = substr($text, 0, $pos[$limit]) . '...';
    }
    return $text;
}

Method 2: Using Regular Expressions

Regular expressions can also be used to truncate strings to a specified word count.

function limit_text_regex($text, $limit) {
    return preg_replace('/\s+.*?(?:\s+|$)/s', '...', $text, $limit);
}

Example Usage:

$input = 'Hello here is a long sentence that will be truncated by the';
$truncated = limit_text($input, 5);
echo $truncated; // Output: Hello here is a long ...

By employing these methods, you can effectively truncate strings to the desired word count in PHP applications.

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