PHP Tutorial - PHP levenshtein() Function
Definition
The levenshtein() function returns the Levenshtein distance between two strings case-insensitive.
The Levenshtein distance is the number of characters to replace, insert or delete to transform string1 into string2.
By default, PHP gives replace, insert, and delete equal weight. We can define the cost of each operation by setting the optional insert, replace, and delete parameters.
Syntax
PHP levenshtein() Function has the following syntax.
levenshtein(string1,string2,insert,replace,delete)Parameter
| Parameter | Is Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| string1 | Required. | First string to compare |
| string2 | Required. | Second string to compare |
| insert | Optional. | The cost of inserting a character. Default is 1 |
| replace | Optional. | The cost of replacing a character. Default is 1 |
| delete | Optional. | The cost of deleting a character. Default is 1 |
Return
PHP levenshtein() function Returns the Levenshtein distance between the two argument strings or -1, if one of the strings exceeds 255 characters.
Example
Calculate the Levenshtein distance between two strings:
<?php
echo levenshtein("Hello World","ello World from java2s.com");
echo "\n";
echo levenshtein("Hello World","ello World from java2s.com",10,20,30);
?>
The code above generates the following result.
