PHP Function MB_Detect_Encoding
php function mb_detect_encoding is a multibyte string (mbstring) extension that provides conversions and judgments between different character encodings. The multi-byte string (mbstring) extension allows manipulation of strings that contain characters from Asian scripts, Emojis, and thousands of other symbols that cannot be assigned or fit into a single byte. It also supports converting to and from multiple character encodings, including Unicode-based encodings.
mb_detect_encoding() detects the most likely character encoding for a stringstring. It does this by looking at sequences of bytes in a string and then judging which ones are most likely to represent a valid character in the given encoding. The detection is not 100% reliable, however, since not every sequence of bytes can be recognized as a valid sequence in any encoding. It is always preferable to use an indication of character encoding stored or transmitted with the data, such as in a content-type HTTP header.
In PHP 8.2, mb_detect_encoding() is deprecated and replaced by the dedicated mb_convert_encoding() function, as well as the built-in functions for encoding/decoding Base64, Quoted-Printable, Uuencode, and HTML Entities. These new dedicated functions do not require the mbstring extension, so there are no deprecation warnings when using them.
mb_detect_encoding() can reveal sensitive parameters in stack traces when used without sanitization. PHP 8.2 introduces a new function to mask these values, making it possible to debug a function without showing its callers' credentials. This is a valuable feature to have in any application, especially when dealing with user-supplied data.