PCRE Functions
PHP Manual

preg_last_error

Returns the error code of the last PCRE regex execution

Description

int preg_last_error ( void )

Returns the error code of the last PCRE regex execution.

Example #1 preg_last_error example

<?php

preg_match('/(?:\D+|<\d+>)*[!?]/', 'foobar foobar foobar');

if (preg_last_error() == PREG_BACKTRACK_LIMIT_ERROR) {
    print 'Backtrack limit was exhausted!';
}

?>

The above example will output:

Backtrack limit was exhausted!

Return Values

Returns one of the following constants (explained on their own page):

  • PREG_NO_ERROR
  • PREG_INTERNAL_ERROR
  • PREG_BACKTRACK_LIMIT_ERROR (see also pcre.backtrack_limit)
  • PREG_RECURSION_LIMIT_ERROR (see also pcre.recursion_limit)
  • PREG_BAD_UTF8_ERROR
  • PREG_BAD_UTF8_OFFSET_ERROR (since PHP 5.3.0)