(PHP 5 >= 5.1.0)
htmlspecialchars_decode — Convert special HTML entities back to characters
$string
   [, int $flags = ENT_COMPAT | ENT_HTML401
  ] )This function is the opposite of htmlspecialchars(). It converts special HTML entities back to characters.
   The converted entities are: &,
   " (when ENT_NOQUOTES is not set),
   ' (when ENT_QUOTES is set),
   < and >.
  
stringThe string to decode.
flagsA bitmask of one or more of the following flags, which specify how to handle quotes and which document type to use. The default is ENT_COMPAT | ENT_HTML401.
| Constant Name | Description | 
|---|---|
| ENT_COMPAT | Will convert double-quotes and leave single-quotes alone. | 
| ENT_QUOTES | Will convert both double and single quotes. | 
| ENT_NOQUOTES | Will leave both double and single quotes unconverted. | 
| ENT_HTML401 | Handle code as HTML 4.01. | 
| ENT_XML1 | Handle code as XML 1. | 
| ENT_XHTML | Handle code as XHTML. | 
| ENT_HTML5 | Handle code as HTML 5. | 
Returns the decoded string.
| Version | Description | 
|---|---|
| 5.4.0 | The constants ENT_HTML401,ENT_XML1,ENT_XHTMLandENT_HTML5were added. | 
Example #1 A htmlspecialchars_decode() example
<?php
$str = "<p>this -> "</p>\n";
echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str);
// note that here the quotes aren't converted
echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str, ENT_NOQUOTES);
?>
The above example will output:
<p>this -> "</p> <p>this -> "</p>