Old School PHP Scripts: Numword, the number to word converter
The Numword class (via Github) will rarely find a use, but its creation was primarily for fun. A friend of mine asked me if there was a PHP function that will turn a number into its word equivalent (example, 100 becomes one-hundred). As none existed, I felt like this would be a fun task to attempt, and so the Numword class was born. Numword supports the basic range of numbers and the ability to convert up to centillion (which is mind blowingly large).
The easiest way to convert a number is to use the single() method. This method accepts a single number argument and returns the word equivalent. You may also use the multiple() method which accepts an array of numbers. Do note however, that large numbers must be passed as a string, else it will blow up because of PHPs 32 bit integers.
// one-thousand, two-hundred thirty-four
Numword::single(1234);
// eight-billion, two-hundred thirty-four-million, seven-hundred eighty-thousand, two-hundred thirty-four
Numword::single('8234780234');Some other convenient methods are block() and currency(). The block() method will parse out any numbers within a string of text, and convert them. While the currency() method is self explanatory, it converts currency.
// I am twenty-five years, fifteen days and sixty-two minutes years old.
Numword::block('I am 25 years, 15 days and 62 minutes years old.');
// one-thousand, three-hundred thirty-seven dollar(s) & fifteen cent(s)
Numword::currency('$1,337.15');Awesome right? Furthermore, the currency() method is rather smart, in that it parses out the dollar sign, commas, and periods depending on the current locale based on setlocale(). You can also translate the strings used in currency() by passing an array as the second argument. But before we do that, lets go over translating the whole class.
Translating the strings in Numword is extremely easy, but also tedious. If you only need to translate for a single language, then you can overwrite the static properties. If you need to translate for multiple languages (user language selection system), then you will still need to overwrite the properties, but create some kind of system to know which language to use and when (possibly via includes). Here's an example translation of German; zero through nine respectively.
Numword::$digits = array('null', 'eins', 'zwei', 'drei', 'vier', 'fünf', 'sechs', 'sieben', 'acht', 'neun');And to translate the currency strings, you can do something like:
Numword::currency('£48,530.38', array('dollar' => 'pound(s)', 'cent' => 'pence'));Numword isn't as extensible as I would like, but since it is merely a fun project, the need for heavy translation and locale awareness settings aren't needed. You can always base your own class on Numword :). Hope you enjoyed!