PHP String htmlspecialchars_decode() Function

The htmlspecialchars_decode() function is an in-built function of PHP, which converts pre-defined HTML entities to characters. It is opposite to the htmlspecialchars() function. HTML entities decoded back to the character will be like-

& converts as & (ampersand)
" converts as " (double-quote)
' converts as ' (single-quote)
< converts as < (less than)
> converts as > (greater than)

The htmlspecialchars_decode() function is used to decode the HTML entities into characters, whereas htmlspecialchars() is used to converts the character in HTML entities.

For Example

HTML output = This is some <i> italic </i> text.

Browser output = This is some italic text

Syntax:

Description

htmlspecialchars_decode( string $string [ , int $flags = ENT_COMPAT | ENT_HTML401 ] ) : string

Parameters

string (mandatory): string is the first parameter of this function, to which we will decode. This parameter is mandatory.

flags (optional): flag is the second or last parameter of this function that contains one or more flags constants which states how to handle quotes, and which type of document to be used. By default, they are ENT_COMPAT | ENT_HTML401. Available flags constants are given below in the table:

Constant Name	Description
ENT_COMPAT	ENT_COMPAT is a default parameter, and it only converts double-quotes and leaves single-quotes unconverted.
ENT_QUOTES	It converts both single and double-quotes.
ENT_NOQUOTES	It does not convert any quotes neither single-quotes nor double-quotes.
ENT_HTML401	It is default parameter and handles code as HTML 4.01.
ENT_XML1	It handles code as XML 1.
ENT_XHTML	It handles code as XHTML.
ENT_HTML5	It handles code as HTML 5.

Value returned by htmlspecialchars_decode()

It returns the decoded string.

Changelog

Version	Description
5.4.0	The constants ENT_HTML401, ENT_HTML5, ENT_XHTML, and ENT_XML1 were added.

Examples of htmlspecialchars_decode()

Below some example are given of htmlspecialchars_decode() function.

Example 1

<?
	$str=  ""this -> girl is pretty" \n";
	echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str);	//will converts only double quotes.
	echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str, ENT_QUOTES);	//will converts both single and double quotes.
	echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str,  ENT_NOQUOTES);	//will not convert neither single nor double-quotes.
?>

Browser Output

Output on browsers for the above program would be like as given below:

PHP String htmlspecialchars_decode() Function

HTML Output

We can see the html source code for the following program in the browser -> More tools -> Developers tools, and press CTRL+P.

It would look in HTML file like-

<DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
       "this -> girl is pretty" 
        "this -> girl is pretty" 
        "this -> girl is pretty"
</body>
</html>

Example 2

<? php
		$str1 = "'Hello Guys'! This is some <i>italic</i> and <b>bold</b> text\n";
	echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str1);	//will convert only double quotes.
	echo "</br>";
	echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str1, ENT_QUOTES);	//will converts both single and double-quotes.
?>
?>

Browser Output

Output on browsers for the above program would be like as given below:

HTML Output

The HTML view source program would be like-

It would be in HTML file like -

<DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
            'Hello Guys'! This is some <i>italic</i> and <b>bold</b> text.
            </br>'Hello Guys'! This is some <i>italic</i> and <b>bold</b> text.
</body>
</html>

Example 3

<? php
	str=  ""this > girl is pretty" ";
	echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str);
	echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str, ENT_QUOTES);
	echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str, ENT_NOQUOTES);
?>

Browser Output

Output on browsers for the above program would be like as given below:

HTML Output

The HTML view source program would be like-

It would be in HTML file like -

<DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
            this-> girl is pretty
            this-> girl is pretty
            "this-> girl is pretty"           
</body>
</html>

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