(PHP 4 >= 4.3.0, PHP 5)
str_word_count — Return information about words used in a string
   Counts the number of words inside string. 
   If the optional format is not specified, then 
   the return value will be an integer representing the number of words 
   found. In the event the format is specified, the return
   value will be an array, content of which is dependent on the 
   format. The possible value for the 
   format and the resultant outputs are listed below.
  
For the purpose of this function, 'word' is defined as a locale dependent string containing alphabetic characters, which also may contain, but not start with "'" and "-" characters.
stringThe string
formatSpecify the return value of this function. The current supported values are:
string
         
        string and
          the value is the actual word itself
         
        charlistA list of additional characters which will be considered as 'word'
   Returns an array or an integer, depending on the
   format chosen.
  
| Version | Description | 
|---|---|
| 5.1.0 | Added the charlistparameter | 
Example #1 A str_word_count() example
<?php
$str = "Hello fri3nd, you're
       looking          good today!";
print_r(str_word_count($str, 1));
print_r(str_word_count($str, 2));
print_r(str_word_count($str, 1, 'àáãç3'));
echo str_word_count($str);
?>
The above example will output:
Array
(
    [0] => Hello
    [1] => fri
    [2] => nd
    [3] => you're
    [4] => looking
    [5] => good
    [6] => today
)
Array
(
    [0] => Hello
    [6] => fri
    [10] => nd
    [14] => you're
    [29] => looking
    [46] => good
    [51] => today
)
Array
(
    [0] => Hello
    [1] => fri3nd
    [2] => you're
    [3] => looking
    [4] => good
    [5] => today
)
7