Difference in the split functions?

[silkfire]

What's the difference between str_split()  and chunk_split()? They seem to perform the same task?

[dcro2]

str_split splits a string into an array every n characters. chunk_split breaks up a string by inserting a line break every n characters (and returns a string).

[nethnet]

They are similar, but have different outputs and default split lengths.

 

str_split() returns an array and defaults to a split being made every character.

 

chunk_split() returns a string with \r\n placed every 76 characters.

 

For both functions, the split length can be changed with an optional 2nd parameter.

 

In essence, str_split is useful for exploding strings based on a chunk length as opposed to a needle with explode().  chunk_split() is primarily useful for formatting certain long strings to meet RFC semantics.  This is mostly for hash values and encryption methods that potentially produce strings longer than 76 characters.