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#1 2011-06-27 12:43:10
- Algaris
- Member
- From: England
- Registered: 2006-01-27
- Posts: 548
mbstring PHP Extension
I’m in the process of upgrading my web hosting for a new Textpattern install. After talking with the technical support department it appears they meet all the minimum and recommended requirements apart from the mbstring extension.
Would somebody be able to tell me what the mbstring extension does, how Textpattern uses it, if it will have any effect on plugins, etc. and if are there any potential pit falls to be aware of if it’s not installed.
Many thanks.
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#2 2011-06-27 13:53:00
- Algaris
- Member
- From: England
- Registered: 2006-01-27
- Posts: 548
Re: mbstring PHP Extension
Okay as far as I can see it has something to do with allowing more than 256 characters and there could be compatibility issues if you try to use multibyte encoding without the mbstring extension being installed.
http://www.php.net/manual/en/intro.mbstring.php
So this being the case would it be more of an issue with plugins that have been coded to use multibyte encoding? I have to admit I’m not a PHP expert so I’m a little in the dark regarding this.
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Re: mbstring PHP Extension
Multibyte String extension, offers set of multibyte safe functions, equivalent to the normal non-multibyte encoding supporting functions . For longer explanation see PHP manual.
Algaris wrote:
how Textpattern uses it
Textpattern uses it to provide optional (needed) support for UTF-8, which is the character encoding TXP uses; for example converting encodings and doing string length counts are done using the functions the extension offers. If the extension isn’t installed, normal functions are used as fallback. Textpattern should work fine nonetheless if the extension is installed or not.
have any effect on plugins
If some plugin directly calls function from mb extension, without providing fallback, it won’t just work as it would require the extension. Requirements set by a plugin, are up to the plugin. Most plugins likely don’t need the extension.
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