Using the PHP Function Mb_Parse_Str

PHP provides thousands of built-in features. Among them, mb_parse_str is one of the best and well-documented. This function takes a string as input and returns the number of bytes it has read.

A function in PHP is a piece of code that can be used repeatedly and accepts an argument list as its input. Functions may pass information by value or by reference, and they can also assign default argument values to variables.

The mb_parse_str() function is similar to the parse_str() function but works on byte level and supports multibyte characters. It is commonly used to parse data that has been submitted via HTTP forms. It detects the encoding and converts it to internal encoding before setting global variables. The result is an array containing decoded and character encoding converted values. It returns TRUE for success or FALSE for failure.

If mbstring is enabled, the mb_parse_str() can be used for POST and COOKIE data as well. However, since web browsers can use different encodings, it is better to set the charset in the HTTP header, instead of using this function.

The mbstring module provides support for Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Russian and Japanese. You can enable the module by providing the --enable-mbstring option with the LANG parameter. The mbstring extension is compatible with all major web browsers. It is recommended to use mbstring if you plan on supporting multiple languages. Interested in learning more? Check out our Full Stack Web Developer Program.