PHP htmlspecialchars_decode() Function
Topic: PHP String ReferencePrev|Next
Description
The htmlspecialchars_decode() function converts special HTML entities back to their corresponding characters. The special HTML entities are:
&converted to&(ampersand)"converted to"(double quote), whenENT_NOQUOTESis not set.'converted to'(single quote), whenENT_QUOTESis set.<converted to<(less than)>converted to>(greater than)
This function typically reverses the effect of htmlspecialchars() function.
The following table summarizes the technical details of this function.
| Return Value: | Returns the decoded string. |
|---|---|
| Version: | PHP 5.1.0+ |
Syntax
The basic syntax of the htmlspecialchars_decode() function is given with:
The following example shows the htmlspecialchars_decode() function in action.
Example
Run this code »<?php
// Sample string
$str = "The lions & tigers live in <b>dense</b> forest.";
// Encoding the string
$encoded_str = htmlspecialchars($str);
echo $encoded_str . "<br>";
// Decoding the string
$decoded_str = htmlspecialchars_decode($encoded_str);
echo $decoded_str;
?>Parameters
The htmlspecialchars_decode() function accepts the following parameters.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| string | Required. Specifies the string to decode. |
| flags |
Optional. Specifies how to handle quotes and which document type to use. The available flags constants for handling quotes are:
The available flags constants for specifying the document types are:
The default value for this parameter is |
More Examples
Here're some more examples showing how htmlspecialchars_decode() function actually works:
The following example demonstrates the handling of single and double quotes using this function.
Example
Run this code »<?php
// Sample string
$str = "I'll \"leave\" tomorrow.";
// Encoding the string
$encoded_str = htmlspecialchars($str, ENT_QUOTES);
echo $encoded_str; /* I'll "leave" tomorrow. */
// Decodes only double-quotes
$a = htmlspecialchars_decode($encoded_str);
echo $a; /* I'll "leave" tomorrow. */
// Decodes both double and single quotes
$b = htmlspecialchars_decode($encoded_str, ENT_QUOTES);
echo $b; /* I'll "leave" tomorrow. */
?>However, in the browser you will always see the string I'll "leave" tomorrow. View source (right-click and select View Page Source) of the example output to see the converted string.
