The `lcfirst()` function in PHP converts the first character of a string to lowercase. It's been available since PHP 5.3 and continues to work the same way in PHP 8.PHP 8.1,PHP 8.2,PHP 8.3,and PHP 8.4.

Syntax

<?php
lcfirst(string $string): string
?>

Parameters
1.`$string`: The input string to modify

Return Value

Returns the string with the first character converted to lowercase.

Example Usage

<?php
// Basic example
$str = "Hello World";
echo lcfirst($str); // Outputs: "hello World"
// With already lowercase first letter
$str2 = "php is great";
echo lcfirst($str2); // Outputs: "php is great" (no change)
// With numbers or special characters
$str3 = "123ABC";
echo lcfirst($str3); // Outputs: "123ABC" (no change as first char isn't a letter)
// With multibyte characters (UTF-8)
$str4 = "clair";
echo lcfirst($str4); // Outputs: "clair" (works with some multibyte chars)
?>

Important Notes for PHP 8.2

1. The function works the same in PHP 8.2 as in previous versions.
2. For proper multibyte character handling (especially with non-Latin scripts), consider using `mb_lcfirst()` from a userland implementation or the `mbstring` extension.
3. The function doesn't modify the original string - it returns a new modified string.