calculate math expression from a string using eval
I recently created a PHP package that provides a math_eval
helper function. It does exactly what you need, without the need to use the potentially unsafe eval
function.
You just pass in the string version of the mathematical expression and it returns the result.
$two = math_eval('1 + 1');
$three = math_eval('5 - 2');
$ten = math_eval('2 * 5');
$four = math_eval('8 / 2');
You can also pass in variables, which will be substituted if needed.
$ten = math_eval('a + b', ['a' => 7, 'b' => 3]);
$fifteen = math_eval('x * y', ['x' => 3, 'y' => 5]);
Link: https://github.com/langleyfoxall/math_eval
While I don't suggest using eval
for this (it is not the solution), the problem is that eval
expects complete lines of code, not just fragments.
$ma ="2+10";
$p = eval('return '.$ma.';');
print $p;
Should do what you want.
A better solution would be to write a tokenizer/parser for your math expression. Here's a very simple regex-based one to give you an example:
$ma = "2+10";
if(preg_match('/(\d+)(?:\s*)([\+\-\*\/])(?:\s*)(\d+)/', $ma, $matches) !== FALSE){
$operator = $matches[2];
switch($operator){
case '+':
$p = $matches[1] + $matches[3];
break;
case '-':
$p = $matches[1] - $matches[3];
break;
case '*':
$p = $matches[1] * $matches[3];
break;
case '/':
$p = $matches[1] / $matches[3];
break;
}
echo $p;
}
Take a look at this..
I use this in an accounting system where you can write math expressions in amount input fields..
Examples
$Cal = new Field_calculate();
$result = $Cal->calculate('5+7'); // 12
$result = $Cal->calculate('(5+9)*5'); // 70
$result = $Cal->calculate('(10.2+0.5*(2-0.4))*2+(2.1*4)'); // 30.4
Code
class Field_calculate {
const PATTERN = '/(?:\-?\d+(?:\.?\d+)?[\+\-\*\/])+\-?\d+(?:\.?\d+)?/';
const PARENTHESIS_DEPTH = 10;
public function calculate($input){
if(strpos($input, '+') != null || strpos($input, '-') != null || strpos($input, '/') != null || strpos($input, '*') != null){
// Remove white spaces and invalid math chars
$input = str_replace(',', '.', $input);
$input = preg_replace('[^0-9\.\+\-\*\/\(\)]', '', $input);
// Calculate each of the parenthesis from the top
$i = 0;
while(strpos($input, '(') || strpos($input, ')')){
$input = preg_replace_callback('/\(([^\(\)]+)\)/', 'self::callback', $input);
$i++;
if($i > self::PARENTHESIS_DEPTH){
break;
}
}
// Calculate the result
if(preg_match(self::PATTERN, $input, $match)){
return $this->compute($match[0]);
}
// To handle the special case of expressions surrounded by global parenthesis like "(1+1)"
if(is_numeric($input)){
return $input;
}
return 0;
}
return $input;
}
private function compute($input){
$compute = create_function('', 'return '.$input.';');
return 0 + $compute();
}
private function callback($input){
if(is_numeric($input[1])){
return $input[1];
}
elseif(preg_match(self::PATTERN, $input[1], $match)){
return $this->compute($match[0]);
}
return 0;
}
}