[FIXED] How to use $1 twice

Issue

I want to know how can I use the value of (.*?) twice? for example:

$data = preg_replace("/<d>\s*(\s*(.*?)\s*)</d>/i", "F: $1, S: $1", $data);

this code above returns the value I use (for example: Hello) and returns: F: , S: Hello, but I want it to return F: Hello, S: Hello

Here's the code that isn't working:

"MySQLi\s*~\s*Escape\s*(\s*.*?\s*)", "$1 = mysql_real_escape_string$1", "MySQLi~Escape('Hi');" outputs:

 = mysql_real_escape_string('Hi');

Solution

What you need is the U modifier.

Try it here:

$res = preg_replace("/MySQLi\s*~\s*Escape\s*((\s*.*?\s*))/U", "$1 = mysql_real_escape_string$2", "MySQLi~Escape('Hi');");
var_dump($res);

output:

string(41) "('Hi'); = mysql_real_escape_string('Hi');"

From the official PHP's documentations:

U (PCRE_UNGREEDY)

This modifier inverts the "greediness" of the quantifiers so that they are not greedy by default, but become greedy if followed by ?. It is not compatible with Perl. It can also be set by a (?U) modifier setting within the pattern or by a question mark behind a quantifier (e.g. .*?).

Answered By - user2342558

Answer Checked By - Candace Johnson (PHPFixing Volunteer)