In the previous chapter, we introduced the basics of the PHP language. In this chapter we show you some important techniques you'll need to manipulate data in PHP. This includes ways of dealing with arrays, strings, dates, and numerical data. The topics in this chapter cover:
Arrays and array library functions
Strings and string library functions
Regular expressions
Date and time functions
Integer and float functions
We don't attempt to cover every function and library supported by PHP. However, we provide brief descriptions of them in Appendix E. In later chapters, we discuss selected specialized library functions that support the topics and techniques presented here.