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Handling multilingual strings in PHP is a common task, especially when it is necessary to support right-to-left (RTL) languages such as Hebrew. PHP provides the hebrev() function to convert Hebrew text in logical order into visual order for correct display in environments that do not support RTL. However, in actual use, this function often results in output exceptions due to inconsistent character encoding. This article will analyze the root causes of this problem and provide reliable solutions.
The syntax of hebrev() is as follows:
<code> string hebrev ( string $hebrew_text [, int $max_chars_per_line = 0 ] ) </code>It will try to convert the logical order (from right to left) to visual order (from left to right) to better display text on legacy systems or terminals that do not support RTL.
For example:
<code> echo hebrev("á?ìù ì???é"); // Output: ??????? ???? </code>In this example, if the character encoding is properly processed, the expected visual order output of the Hebrew text is obtained.
hebrev() is essentially designed based on the ISO-8859-8 character set, a single-byte encoding used in Hebrew. Therefore, if you are passing a UTF-8 encoded string, it will not be able to correctly identify and convert these characters, resulting in garbled code, disordered order or even losing characters directly.
Common exception outputs include:
Non-Hebrew characters are truncated or replaced with question marks
The output order is still incorrect
Conflicts arise when mixed with other functions (such as mb_* series)
To ensure that hebrev() works properly, it is recommended to convert the input text from UTF-8 to ISO-8859-8 before calling it. You can use PHP's built-in iconv() function:
<code> $utf8_text = "????? ????"; $iso_text = iconv("UTF-8", "ISO-8859-8", $utf8_text); $converted = hebrev($iso_text); echo iconv("ISO-8859-8", "UTF-8", $converted); </code>This process is as follows:
Convert the original UTF-8 string to ISO-8859-8
Use hebrev() to convert visual order
Return to UTF-8 for output or further processing
Here is a complete PHP script that receives Hebrew text input from users and is safely processed by hebrev() after output:
<code> <?php if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST') { $input = $_POST['hebrew_text'] ?? ''; $iso_input = iconv("UTF-8", "ISO-8859-8", $input); $hebrev_output = hebrev($iso_input); $utf8_output = iconv("ISO-8859-8", "UTF-8", $hebrev_output); echo "<pre>" . htmlspecialchars($utf8_output, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8') . "</pre>"; } ?> <form method="POST" action=" https://gitbox.net/convert.php ">
<label>Enter Hebrew text: </label><br>
<textarea name="hebrew_text" rows="4" cols="50"></textarea><br>
<input type="submit" value="convert">
</form>
</code>
Although hebrev() is still useful in some legacy systems, it is recommended to use RTL-enabled CSS and HTML layouts to correctly display Hebrew content in modern applications. For example:
<code> <div dir="rtl">?????? ???</div> </code>In addition, if complex bidirectional text processing is required, consider using more professional international libraries (such as ICUs) or client rendering capabilities with JavaScript.
Character encoding problems are the most common obstacle when using hebrev() to process Hebrew text. By reasonably converting between UTF-8 and ISO-8859-8, the compatibility of functions and the correctness of output can be significantly improved. But in the long run, more modern layouts and international solutions are the direction of sustainable development.
