IntlChar::charFromName

(PHP 7, PHP 8)

IntlChar::charFromName — Find Unicode character by name and return its code point value

Description

public static IntlChar::charFromName(string $name, int $type = IntlChar::UNICODE_CHAR_NAME): ?int

Finds a Unicode character by its name and returns its code point value.

The name is matched exactly and completely. If the name does not correspond to a code point, null is returned.

A Unicode 1.0 name is matched only if it differs from the modern name. Unicode names are all uppercase. Extended names are lowercase followed by an uppercase hexadecimal number, and within angle brackets.

Parameters

name

Full name of the Unicode character.

type

Which set of names to use for the lookup. Can be any of these constants:

  • IntlChar::UNICODE_CHAR_NAME (default)
  • IntlChar::UNICODE_10_CHAR_NAME
  • IntlChar::EXTENDED_CHAR_NAME
  • IntlChar::CHAR_NAME_ALIAS
  • IntlChar::CHAR_NAME_CHOICE_COUNT

Return Values

The Unicode value of the code point with the given name (as an int), or null if there is no such code point.

Examples

Example #1 Testing different code points

<?php
var_dump(IntlChar::charFromName("LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A"));
var_dump(IntlChar::charFromName("SNOWMAN"));
var_dump(IntlChar::charFromName("RECYCLING SYMBOL FOR TYPE-1 PLASTICS"));
var_dump(IntlChar::charFromName("A RANDOM STRING WHICH DOESN'T CORRESPOND TO ANY UNICODE CHARACTER"));
?>

The above example will output:

int(65)
int(9731)
int(9843)
NULL

See Also