Here is what I would do and it should work regardless of values in $str
:
function replace_str($str,$search,$replace,$num) {
$pieces = explode(',',$str);
$counter = 0;
foreach($pieces as $key=>$val) {
if($val == $search) {
$counter++;
if($counter == $num) {
$pieces[$key] = $replace;
}
}
}
return implode(',',$pieces);
}
$str="0000,1023,1024,1025,1024,1023,1027,1025,1024,1025,0000";
echo replace_str($str, '1024', 'JJJJ', 3);
I think this is what you are asking in your comment:
function replace_element($str,$search,$replace,$num) {
$num = $num - 1;
$pieces = explode(',',$str);
if($pieces[$num] == $search) {
$pieces[$num] = $replace;
}
return implode(',',$pieces);
}
$str="0000,1023,1024,1025,1024,1023,1027,1025,1024,1025,0000";
echo replace_element($str,'1024','JJJJ',9);