Add Leading Zeroes in PHP

Learn how to easily add leading zeroes to numbers in PHP with the str_pad() function. Make your numbers consistent and tidy!

To add one leading zero to a number in PHP, you can use the native str_pad() PHP function. This function takes the input string of the number, the desired length of the output string, and the character to use as padding (in this case, 0), and returns the padded string.

PHP Leading Zeroes Example

Here is an example:

$num = 5; // input number
$output = str_pad($num, 3, '0', STR_PAD_LEFT); // a total of 3 digits
echo $output; // outputs "005"

This is an explanation of the example above:

• The input number is set to 5

• We then use the str_pad() function to add two leading zeros to this number. The desired length of the leading zeroes is specified to 3 to account for the added zeroes, and the padding character is set to 0.

• We also use the STR_PAD_LEFT option of str_pad() to specify that the padding should be applied to the left of the input string. You can also use STR_PAD_RIGHT to append them to the end of your string instead.

• Finally, we output the padded string, which is 005.

It's easier than you might think to add those leading zeroes to your numbers using PHP and the built-in str_pad() function!

Details

• Title: Tutorial: Add Leading Zeroes in PHP
• Published: March 21, 2024
• Author: Andrew Young
• Categories: PHP