Regex Laravel Package

Getting Started

Start by installing via Composer: composer require spatie/regex. This package wraps PHP’s native preg_* functions with a cleaner, exception-handling, and more intuitive API. The primary class is Spatie\Regex\Regex, which offers static methods like match(), matchAll(), replace(), and test(). Begin with simple pattern matching:

use Spatie\Regex\Regex;

$result = Regex::match('/foo/', 'foobar'); // Returns ['foo']
if ($result->isSuccessful()) {
    echo $result->match(0); // 'foo'
}

Use the test() method for quick boolean checks:

Regex::test('/\d+/', 'Version 1.2'); // true

Implementation Patterns

• Parsing structured strings: Extract segments with named groups using matchAll():

  $matches = Regex::matchAll('/(?<date>\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}) (?<time>\d{2}:\d{2})/', '2023-04-01 15:30');
  $matches->map(fn ($match) => [
      'date' => $match['date'],
      'time' => $match['time']
  ]);
  

• Replacing with callbacks: Use replace() for conditional or dynamic replacements:

  $result = Regex::replace('/\$(\d+)/', 'Price is $100', function ($amount) {
      return '€' . $amount[1] * 0.92;
  });
  // → 'Price is €100'
  

• Type-safe workflows: Chain operations with RegexResult methods:
  ->isSuccessful(), ->match($index), ->matches(), ->groups() — avoid raw array access and undefined index errors.

Gotchas and Tips

• Backslashes in patterns: PHP string interpolation can mangle regex — always use single quotes or escape slashes: '\/path\/to\/file' → safer: '#path/to/file#'.
• Performance: While convenient, each static call instantiates internal state. For tight loops, cache compiled patterns via Regex::compile() or use native preg_* where performance is critical.
• No PCRE JIT by default: PHP’s JIT requires pcre.jit=1 in php.ini. Without it, patterns with heavy backtracking (e.g., nested quantifiers) may timeout or OOM.
• Exceptions vs. @ silencing: Unlike raw preg_*, this package throws Spatie\Regex\InvalidRegex on malformed patterns — handle appropriately (e.g., validate user input patterns).
• Named groups vs numeric indices: Prefer named groups ((?<name>...)) for readability, and use ->groups() instead of ->match(1), which is brittle if pattern order changes.