UTF-8 validation in PHP without using preg_match()

Question

I need to validate some user input that is encoded in UTF-8. Many have recommended using the following code:

preg_match(\'/\\A(
     [\\x09\\x0A\\x0D\\x20-\\         


        

Answer 1

You can always using the Multibyte String Functions:

If you want to use it a lot and possibly change it at sometime:

1) First set the encoding you want to use in your config file

/* Set internal character encoding to UTF-8 */
mb_internal_encoding("UTF-8");

2) Check the String

if(mb_check_encoding($string))
{
    // do something
}

Or, if you don't plan on changing it, you can always just put the encoding straight into the function:

if(mb_check_encoding($string, 'UTF-8'))
{
    // do something
}