(PHP4 >= 4.0.1)
sscanf -- Parses input from a string according to a format
Description
mixed sscanf (string str, string format [, string 
       var1...])
	 The function sscanf() is the input analog of
	 printf(). Sscanf() reads from
	 the string str and interprets it according to
	 the specified format. If only two parameters were
	 passed to this function, the values parsed will be returned as an array.
	 
Example 1. Sscanf() Example 
// getting the serial number
$serial = sscanf("SN/2350001","SN/%d");
// and the date of manufacturing
$mandate = "January 01 2000";
list($month, $day, $year) = sscanf($mandate,"%s %d %d");
echo "Item $serial was manufactured on: $year-".substr($month,0,3)."-$day\n";
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	 If optional parameters are passed, the function will return the number of
	 assigned values. The optional parameters must be passed by reference.
 
Example 2. Sscanf() - using optional parameters 
// get author info and generate DocBook entry
$auth = "24\tLewis Carroll";
$n = sscanf($auth,"%d\t%s %s", &$id, &$first, &$last);
echo "<author id='$id'>
	<firstname>$first</firstname>
	<surname>$last</surname>
</author>\n";
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     See also: fscanf(), printf(),
     and sprintf().