Find a word wrapped in an asterisk (*) and wrap it in a span element

find_replace.php

/**
 * Search for an asterisk (*) in a string and wrap it with an element
 *
 * @example echo findAndWrap($module->get('title'), 'alternate-text')
 *
 * @package Erik's Functions
 * @subpackage utility
 *
 * @param string $haystack | String to search
 * @param string $class | Class to add to wrapper element
 * @param string $wrapper | element type to wrap $needle with
 * @param string $needle | What to search for
 *
 * @todo edit function so developer can specify which $needle to search for
 *
 */
 
function findAndWrap($haystack, $class, $wrapper = 'span', $needle = '*') {
$expression = '/(\*(.*?)\*)/';
  if (preg_match($expression, $haystack)){
    return preg_replace($expression, '<'.$wrapper.' class="'.$class.'">$2</'.$wrapper.'>', $haystack);
  } else {
    return $haystack;
  }
}