How to optimize performance issues in mb_get_info

gitbox 2025-05-11

mb_get_info is part of the multi-byte string function (MBString) library in PHP, mainly used to obtain various information about the current multi-byte character encoding. In some applications with larger character sets, using this function allows developers to more conveniently process and analyze multibyte strings. However, if this function is frequently used in systems with high performance requirements, it may have some impact on performance.

This article will discuss how to improve the performance of mb_get_info function in actual applications and help developers optimize the operation efficiency of PHP applications.

1. Understand the basic functions of the mb_get_info function

The function of the mb_get_info function is to get detailed information about the MBString extension. It returns an array containing character encoding, character set and some other information. In some cases, frequent call to the function may add unnecessary performance overhead, especially when dealing with large numbers of strings.

 mb_get_info();

2. Reduce the number of calls to mb_get_info

In actual development, if you find that mb_get_info is called frequently and the return value of each call does not change much, you should consider reducing its number of calls to the lowest. For example, the result can be cached instead of re-calling it every time.

Example: Cache mb_get_info results

 // cache mb_get_info Return value
$mb_info = mb_get_info();

// 在后续使用中直接使用cache的结果
echo $mb_info['internal_encoding'];  // Get the current internal code

In this way, we avoid repeated calls to mb_get_info , thus reducing performance overhead.

3. Use static variables to cache results

If the result of mb_get_info does not change during the same request cycle, you can use static variables to cache the result, which avoids calling the function every time.

Example: Using static variable cache

 function getMbInfo() {
    static $mb_info = null;
    
    if ($mb_info === null) {
        $mb_info = mb_get_info();
    }
    
    return $mb_info;
}

// 使用cache的结果
$info = getMbInfo();
echo $info['internal_encoding'];

4. Restrict the return field of mb_get_info

mb_get_info returns an array containing a lot of information. Depending on the specific needs, you can only obtain some of the information you need, thereby reducing unnecessary data processing.

Example: Get only internal encoding information

 $mb_info = mb_get_info();
$internal_encoding = $mb_info['internal_encoding'];  // Get internal code
echo $internal_encoding;

If you are only interested in certain specific information, you can optimize performance by limiting the amount of data returned.

5. Replace or optimize the logic that depends on mb_get_info

In some cases, the need to use mb_get_info to dynamically obtain character set information may be redundant. If your application has explicitly specified the character set or encoding method, you can use these fixed values directly instead of calling mb_get_info every time.

Example: Use known encoding information directly

 $internal_encoding = 'UTF-8';  // Identify the encoding
echo $internal_encoding;

If you know that the encoding used for certain operations is fixed, this will avoid additional performance consumption.

6. Consider merging multiple calls to mb_get_info

If you have multiple places in your code that need to call mb_get_info to get the same information, consider combining these calls into one. For example, call mb_get_info once and store the result in a variable, and then use this variable elsewhere instead of repeatedly calling mb_get_info .

Example: Merge multiple calls

 $mb_info = mb_get_info();
$encoding = $mb_info['internal_encoding'];
$language = $mb_info['language'];

// Use the same data
echo $encoding;
echo $language;

7. Performance monitoring and analysis

Finally, it is highly recommended to use some performance analysis tools to monitor the performance overhead of mb_get_info when optimizing your code, such as using Xdebug or other performance analysis tools. This will help you identify whether there are performance bottlenecks in your application and verify that the optimization is effective.

Summarize

To improve the performance of the mb_get_info function in use, the key is to reduce unnecessary calls, reasonably cache the results, and obtain the minimum information required according to actual needs. Furthermore, developers may consider using fixed encoded values in certain situations without relying on dynamic acquisition of information.

Through the above optimization methods, the execution efficiency of the application can be improved during the multi-byte string processing, especially in a high concurrency environment, which can significantly reduce the performance burden.

mb_get_info