php splitting large numbers (like explode) -

i need functionality of php explode(), without separators.

for example, turning variable "12345" array, holding each number seperately.

is possible? i've googled found explode(), doesn't seem work.

thanks!

with string in php:

$foo="12345"; echo $foo[0];//1 echo $foo[1];//2 //etc 

or (from preg_split()) page in manual

$str = 'string'; $chars = preg_split('//', $str, -1, preg_split_no_empty); print_r($chars); 

even better:

$str = 'string'; $chars=str_split($str, 1) print_r($chars); 

benchmark of preg_split() vs str_split()

 function microtime_float() {     list($usec, $sec) = explode(" ", microtime());     return ((float)$usec + (float)$sec); }   $str = '12345'; $time_start = microtime_float(); ($i = 0; $i <100000; $i++) { $chars = preg_split('//', $str, -1, preg_split_no_empty); //$chars=str_split($str, 1); } $time_end = microtime_float(); $time = $time_end - $time_start;  echo "$time seconds\n"; 

results:

str_split  =0.69 preg_split =0.9