PHP soundex() Function

The soundex() function is a built-in function in PHP and is used to calculate the Soundex key of a given string. The soundex key is a four character long alphanumeric string(starting with a letter) which represents the English pronunciation of the given string. 

Syntax:

string soundex($str);

Parameters: This function accepts a single parameter $str which represents the string for which we want to find the Soundex key. 

Return Value: It returns the soundex key as a string. 

Below programs illustrate the soundex() function in PHP: 

Program 1: In the below program, the soundex() function generates the soundex key of the string “geeksforgeeks”. 

php

<?php

$str = "geeksforgeeks";

echo soundex($str);

?>

Output:

G216

Program 2: In the below program, we will see that two words having same pronunciation produce similar Soundex key. 

php

<?php

$str1 = "hair";
$str2 = "heir";

echo soundex($str1)."\n";
echo soundex($str2);

?>

Output:

H600
H600

Reference: http://php.net/manual/en/function.soundex.php