How Can I Efficiently Extract URLs from Text Using PHP and Regular Expressions?

Efficient URL Extraction from Text in PHP

Query

Extract URLs from the following text using regular expressions, specifically preg_match():

$string = "this is my friend's website http://example.com I think it is coll";

Answer

To extract the URL from the provided string, leveraging regular expressions is a suitable approach. One effective regex pattern is:

preg_match_all('#\bhttps?://[^\s()<>]+(?:\([\w\d]+\)|([^[:punct:]\s]|/))#', $string, $match);

This regex matches valid URLs by ensuring they begin with "http" or "https," contain a domain without spaces or special characters, and optionally include parameters or path information.

However, there is a limitation to consider. Malformed URLs, such as "http://google:ha.ckers.org," may not be fully filtered out by this pattern.

Alternatively, you can utilize the following WordPress function:

make_clickable($string);

This function is specifically designed for converting plain text into formatted strings with clickable URLs, providing a robust method for URL extraction.

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